


The Proposal

by Alexdanverswrites



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Basically Lena's a crazy editor and Kara's her assistant, F/F, Fake Marriage, Fake/Pretend Relationship, The Proposal AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-16
Updated: 2018-08-17
Packaged: 2018-09-24 20:52:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 39,861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9786428
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alexdanverswrites/pseuds/Alexdanverswrites
Summary: Lena Luthor is a cold, callous editor in chief at one of the top publishing companies in the world. Kara is her long-suffering assistant who hopes to be an editor one day. When Lena faces the threat of deportation, she makes Kara an offer. The job of her dreams in exchange for one thing: her hand in marriage.ORFAKE DATING/ENGAGEMENT AU





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The idea for this came to me cos there was a rom-com marathon on tv over the weekend and it reminded me of how much I love this plot. This is my first fic on AO3, so pardon if my formatting is off!

Kara ran as quickly as she could to her desk, doing her best to not only balance the piping hot coffee and whole wheat bagel with low-fat spread, but also juggling a fresh copy of her manuscript in her hand. She passed by Winn’s desk with a small, slightly stressed smile as she jogged to her post.

“Someone looks hopeful. Going to try and get the Dragon Lady to actually look at your manuscript this time? And, no, Kara, we don’t count the time she used it as a coaster.” He said with a small head shake.

“Pffft, she definitely read the title. Probably. Unless her mug was covering—Anyway! Not important.” Kara said as she settled back behind her desk. “It’s a big day! She’s been in negotiations for publicity all week and I really think she’s going to crack it.”

“Uh huh. I’m telling you, no one can make Cat Grant crack.” Winn shrugged.

Kara opened her mouth to protest, but out of the corner of her eye, she saw the elevator doors open. Jumping to attention, she grabbed her boss’s coffee and hurried over to meet her at the elevator.

Lena Luthor strode out of the elevator, dressed to kill with stilettos that could cut a man just on sight. As always, her eyes were glued to her phone and one hand reached out expectantly for her coffee. All around, people did their best to avoid drawing any attention to themselves, none of them wanting to provoke the wrath of a Luthor.

Her reputation had far proceeded her even before she had climbed her way up the ranks of the Royce Publishing Company. And yet, she had thrown off the mantle of being a Luthor and had chosen to fight tooth and nail to become the executive editor in chief at Royce. Of course, she’d stepped on more than a few people to get to the top, but there was no denying that Lena Luthor was one of the most powerful women in the publishing world.

Rushing to catch up with her boss, Kara hastily pushed the cup into Lena’s outstretched hand before launching into the agenda for the day.

“Your breakfast is already in your office, along with the most recent batch of manuscripts to be finalized for printing. You’ve got a meeting in 30, a conference call at 9, and your immigration lawyer called about your paperwork. He said it was crucial and that he needed to speak with you as soon as possible.” Kara said as she followed her boss across the open floor.

“Cancel the call, push the meeting back an hour, tell my lawyer to get back to me at another time. I need PR up here in 10, we’ve got Cat, hook, line, and sinker. I want a press release done, yesterday. Oh, and bring in Siobhan.” Lena said as she entered her office, not bothering to look up from her phone at all.

Kara stared, flabbergasted. “You—you got Cat Grant? Wow, that’s amazing.”

Lena glanced up at her, an eyebrow quirked coldly. “If I wanted your praise, I would have asked for it. Now, go get Siobhan and call up PR.”

“I—right, of course.” Kara deflated, wringing her hands as she backed slowly towards the door. “I was just wondering, if you had looked at that manuscript I gave you at all? Any more than, you know, putting your mug on it. And—I had another copy, if something happened to it or you’d lost it. Not that I think you’d have lost it, of course.”

“I read the first few pages.” Lena said as she settled into her high backed, ergonomically designed chair. She opened her computer as she continued to speak.

“And..?” Kara fished, hoping to hear a bit more about what Lena had to think about it. The other woman sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose for a moment.

“Kara. I have read thousands upon thousands of manuscripts. I don’t have time to discuss one drop in the bucket. Now, Siobhan and PR. It’s that simple.” Lena said with a tight lipped smile.

Kara immediately dropped her gaze and nodded, heading out of the office in a hurry.

“Ugghhh!” Kara groaned as she sank into her chair. Winn rolled his chair over, a knowing look on his face.

“That bad, huh? Did she at least open it?”

“She called it a drop in the bucket, which basically means it was an enormous waste of her time.” Kara shook her head. “I have worked as her assistant for three years. Three! And I’ve never said a bad word about her, but—but, sometimes I just wish I could… take her phone and hurl it into the ocean or something. She can be so— rrrrgh!”

“The word you’re looking for is bitchy.” Winn said, scratching his chin as he spoke. Kara shook her head, swallowing.

“No—it’s just… I can’t. I can’t get into this right now, I have to rework her entire schedule and she wants me to rally a PR team and then get Siobhan.” Kara took a deep breath and nodded. “It’s okay though, I’m just going to push through. And maybe one day, she’ll actually take me seriously.”

“That’s the spirit. Don’t let her get you down, Kar.” Winn said, rolling back over to his desk.

“Siobhan!” Lena’s voice rang out as she stood in the doorway of her office, making everyone flinch out of fear. The brunette in question stood up and walked over from where she had been idly lingering by the coffee machine, as cool as could be. “And Kara, you too.”

Gulping, Kara gathered up her pen and pad of paper and hurried inside after Siobhan, closing the door behind her as she did so. The brunette editor seemed unfazed by being brought in to the belly of the beast, so to speak. Kara wasn’t quite sure how she could remain so collected in the face of Lena, but she had to give her some credit. Even if Siobhan was one of the most unlikeable people she’d ever met.

“Our dear leader and her faithful dog, curled up at her feet. To what do I owe the pleasure, Lena?” Siobhan asked, folding her arms across her chest as the two women locked eyes in an intense silent battle. Kara’s eyes flicked nervously between the two women as they stood there, neither one of them refusing to waver.

“Charming, as always, Siobhan. But, that’s neither here nor there. Siobhan, you’re fired.” Kara’s eyes widened. What? She had a feeling that their meeting would have been a bit tenuous but, she’d had no idea that Siobhan was going to be let go.  
Siobhan, for her part, looked unbothered. But, the shock was clear in her tone. “Excuse me?”

“I asked you time and time again to get Cat to do Oprah and you didn’t do it. You’re fired.” Lena replied, tone as cold as ice.

“It’s impossible—Cat hasn’t agreed to do an interview in years, not since she went off the grid.” Siobhan sputtered.

“Really? Well, that’s funny. I was just on the phone with her earlier and she said that she was in.” Lena said with that smile again, the smile that pressed her lips into a thin line of thinly veiled annoyance. “You didn’t even bother to call her did you?”

“I—I…”

“Oh, I understand. Cat can be scary to deal with. For you. But, to any competent editor, we all know her bark is far worse than her bite.” Lena said and withdrew a manila folder from her desk, setting it down on the pristine tabletop before her. “Now, here’s the deal. You have two months. You can use that time to find another job and tell everyone you resigned. Fair?”

Siobhan’s jaw tightened almost imperceptibly and Kara let out a small gasp. Oh no. Oh, no, no, no, please, please don’t say a word. But, she could see Siobhan’s eyes darting around, sweat starting to form on her perfect brow.

“You poisonous bitch!” Kara flinched at the words and glanced out the glass door. All eyes were on the office, everyone was watching. If Lena had intended to keep this quiet, there was no chance of that now. “You can't fire me! You don't think I see what you're doing here? Throwing me to Cat Grant, the most impossible woman on the planet, so that you can look good to the board? Because you—You’re threatened by me!

“And you are a monster.” Siobhan snarled, rage seething just below the surface. Kara stepped forward, holding her hands up in an attempt to pacify the other woman.

“Siobhan, stop.” Kara pleaded. This wasn’t fair for anyone and the fact of the matter was… Lena was right. But, there was no stopping the brunette.

“Just because you have nothing outside of this office, you think that you can treat all of us like your own personal slaves. You know what? I feel sorry for you. Because you know what you're going to have on your deathbed? Nothing and no one.” Siobhan spat, panting. Lena took a casual sip from her coffee before setting it back down.

“Listen carefully, Siobhan. I didn't fire you because I feel threatened. No. I fired you because you're lazy, entitled, incompetent, and you spend more time fucking half of the office staff in the copy room than you do getting actual work done.” Lena said and tilted her head towards Kara. “But, by all means. Make a scene. Kara will call security and I’ll have her film you being dragged out, kicking and screaming. And I’ll have her post it on YouTube, with your name right there, in the subject line. I’m sure it will make a great first impression for future employers. Or. You can stay out of my way for the next two months while you search for more gainful employment.”

Siobhan glared at Lena for a moment and Kara could practically hear the gears whirling away in her brain. But, there was no way out of this. The only solution was Lena’s. As always.

Without a word, the brunette flounced out of the office, swinging the door shut behind her as she left. Lena held out the full manila folder to Kara, who hurried to accept the package.

“I need you this weekend to review her files and manuscripts.” Kara blinked in surprise.

“This—this weekend?” She squeaked. Lena glanced up at her, irritation furrowing her brow.

“Is there a problem?”

“I—well, you see, it’s my mom’s birthday, so I was gonna go home to…” Kara wilted under Lena’s unmoved gaze and shook her head. “I can cancel it. No, no , I can totally cancel it, there’s no problem at all.”

Lena turned her gaze back to her computer, ignoring Kara completely. The blonde awkwardly nodded before hurrying out of the office. The second she was out of sight, she pulled out her cell phone and punched in Alex’s number.

“Alex, something came up at work and I’m so, so sorry.”

“What? No, no, no, no, Kara, you can’t do this to me! You are not leaving me alone for a weekend of hell!” Alex cried out.

“It’s really not that bad.” Kara tried.

“For you. Do you remember the last time Mom and I spent a weekend together for, ‘Mother-Daughter’ bonding?”

“You made me swear to never let that happen again, on pain of death, so help me God.” Kara sighed and pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. “I know, Alex. And I’m sorry, but I just—I can’t. Lena needs me here at the office and I really need to do everything I can to secure that promotion. I don’t want to be stuck as an assistant for the rest of my life.”

“Kara, you’ve been working for her for three years. When was the last time you used a sick day? Or a vacation day? She’s working you to death and for what? A promotion that she dangles in front of you, like a carrot? You’re worth so much more than this, Kar.” Alex sighed and Kara could hear her shake her head through the phone line.

“I promise, next year. And, I’ll make it up to you the next time I get to visit you. Rock music and the gun range and the whole nine yards.” Kara smiled a little sadly. “I love you.”

“Yeah, I love you too. I’ll keep you updated on every minute of being back home. You’re not getting out of suffering just because you’re not there.” Alex teased. “But really. You deserve so much better than the Dragon Lady.” The phone call ended and Kara let out a deep breath, eyes shut. God. She hated having to do that. She hated not being able to see Alex during one of the few times a year where she could actually be with her sister. She hated not being able to be there for her when Alex obviously needed her.

But, she had to. Because Lena Luthor said she had to. And whatever Lena Luthor said, it became law.

Rolling up the sleeves of her argyle sweater, Kara returned to her desk and set about fixing the mess of a schedule that Lena had created.


	2. Chapter 2

Lena shut her eyes, doing her best to rein in the panic that was beginning to set in. Clenching her hand into a fist, she pursed her lips before speaking. When she had been called into speak with Lorde and Carr, she had presumed that it was going to be about the fantastic deal that she had just secured for the company. Some sort of congratulations at the very least.

Being confronted with possibly the worst news she’d heard in her professional career? She’d been completely blindsided.

“What do you mean ‘deported’?” She asked slowly. The two partners exchanged looks with one another before one spoke up.

“Do you remember how there was a conference in Geneva that we told you not to go to because your visa application was being processed and you weren’t allowed to leave the country?” Maxwell waited a tick before adding. “And you went to Geneva anyways?”

Lena scoffed. “We were going to lose Jones to Clearing House, what was I supposed to do?”

“And we got a call from your immigration lawyer and he said that you hadn’t turned in any of your paperwork at all. The deadline was months ago.” Snapper interjected. “You must have seen this coming.”

“I’m not sure if you’re aware, but I just secured Cat Grant and Oprah. I’ve been a bit too busy to jump through a mess of bureaucratic hoops.” Lena said.

“And we’re very pleased with everything that you’ve been able to do for the publishing company. But, the fact of the matter is, you’re not a citizen. You didn’t complete the paperwork, you already have a record of disobeying the law… Did you honestly think that your visa would have been renewed?” Maxwell said, shaking his head.

“I’m from Ireland!” She said, exasperated, but shook her head. There had to be some way around this. Something that could be done. She hadn’t worked so hard to get to this position for it all to come crumbling down because of some stupid law. No, she couldn’t let that happen. “There has to be something that can be done.”

“You can reapply, but unfortunately, that requires a year long wait period during which you will be returned to Ireland.” Maxwell explained, bridging his fingers together on his desk.

Lena did a double take. “An entire year? I—Well, I’m sure we can work around that. We could use video conferencing and most of my work is conducted through email and the phone. The time difference might be a stumbling block at first, but… Why are you both shaking your heads?”

“Lena, if you’re deported, you can’t work for an American Company. Plain and simple. In the meantime, we have no choice but to turn over operations to Siobhan Smythe.” Snapper said, his disparaging tone making it abundantly clear that he saw Smythe as scraping the bottom of the barrel.

“What? Siobhan? The woman that I quite literally fired a few hours ago?” Lena ran a hand through her hair, a nervous habit she’d been unable to kick.

“She’s the only one in the department with enough experience to manage everything and we need an editor in chief.” Maxwell sighed.

“You can’t be serious about this. Snapper, Max,” Lena’s voice trailed off as she looked out the window of Lorde’s office. “I’m begging you. There has to be some way around this.”

“If there was any way, we would be doing it as we speak.” Snapper said. “But there’s nothing—”

As he spoke, the door to Lorde’s office opened and Kara Danvers stepped in, fidgeting with her glasses as she interrupted.

“I’m so sorry to barge in, but Mary with Ms. Winfrey’s office is on the line.” Kara said apologetically.

“I’m a little busy at the moment, Kara.” Lena hissed, wishing that her assistant had the common sense to stay out of the matter.

“And I know that. I told her that you were otherwise engaged, but she just kept talking over me—she really doesn’t take no for an answer.” The blonde said, pushing her glasses up her nose as she spoke.

Lena stared at her for a long moment, something triggering a flash of insight in her mind. Otherwise engaged. That. That was her ticket to staying in the country, to staying in the company, and keeping her position out of Siobhan’s hands. Engaged. If she married a legal citizen, she would by extension, be a legal citizen.

Turning back to face Lorde and Carr, Lena offered a false smile.

“Gentleman. I know we are in a bit of a situation here and… and now really isn’t the most ideal time, but,” Lena gestured for Kara to come inside. When the blonde balked at the instruction, she turned to face her and hissed, “Come here.”

Her assistant looked like a deer in the headlights as she walked into the office, hands clasped tightly in front of her as her eyes darted from the three high powered executives who were all looking at her. Lena moved to meet her halfway and put an arm stiffly around Kara’s waist. The woman cast her a startled look but, to her credit, said nothing.

“I would have preferred to break the news another way, but, well, seeing as how things are the way they are,” Lena cleared her throat and looked at Kara meaningfully. “We’re engaged. We’re getting married.”

At once, three jaws dropped, Kara’s included.

Snapper gestured towards the two of them, shock apparent on his face. “What? You and your secretary? With Ponytail?”

“I know it’s hardly professional, but we’ve all had our office dalliances with our secretaries, now haven’t we, Snapper?” Lena said, voice cutting with intention. “We thought it prudent to keep things under wraps for a while, right sweetie?”

“Huh?” Kara fumbled before hastily nodding. “Oh right. Yes, mhm. We’re—We’re in love. Madly, insanely in love.” She said. Lena glanced over at the two men. Thank God they were men, otherwise they would have been able to read Kara like an open book.

“All those… late nights at the office and the—the book fairs.” Lena supplied, waving her hand as she spoke. “Something just happened.”

“Mhm. _Just_ happened.” Kara echoed. Lena glared at her. Now was not the time for her assistant to be developing a backbone. Not when literally every aspect of her career was on the line.

“Well. That changes everything. Congratulations on the engagement.” Maxwell said, reaching out to shake both of their hands. “Just make it legal.”

“Yes, we’ll get right on that. We were actually going to the immigration office today.” The brunette said with another false smile. “Thank you, again, for meeting with me. But, as you can see, there’s nothing to worry about at all.”

* * *

Winn was idly slurping noodles behind his desk, doing some reading while he finished off his lunch, when a Facebook message popped up from one of the guys working on Snapper and Lorde’s floor.

_Lena and Kara are engaged?!?!?!?!_

Winn choked on a piece of lo mein and coughed violently as he read the words. No way. There was no way. Glancing up from his computer, he saw Lena and Kara exit the elevator. His friend looked rattled beyond belief, but Kara had looked like that the time she’d caught Siobhan and the guy from accounting in the supply closet. And Lena? Well, it was impossible to tell. They didn’t call her the Dragon Lady for no reason.

Kara flopped down onto her chair and took off her glasses, resting her head against the cool surface of her desk. Winn watched Lena enter her office from the corner of his eye before rolling over to the blonde.

“You’re getting married. You’re getting married to _Lena Luthor._ When were you going to tell me this?!” Winn said, tapping his fingers on the desk. “Kara, this is great! No wonder we didn’t work out, you’re gay!”

Kara rolled her eyes and mumbled. “For the last time, I’m not gay. I’m bisexual, there’s a difference. And, I didn’t even—”

Before she could say another word, Lena’s voice cut through the air. “Kara! In here, now.”

Letting out a soft groan, Kara cast Winn an apologetic look before hurrying into Lena’s office. The moment the door closed behind her, the office floor erupted in a flurry of whispers and furtive looks. Winn rolled back over to his desk, returning to his takeout box.

“Hey, man.” Winn looked up and saw James standing next to his desk, coffee mug in hand. “Is it true? Are they really getting married?”

“Honestly? I have no idea. But, Kara didn’t exactly deny it. So… maybe?” Winn said. James shook his head in disbelief. “Did you see it coming?”

“Nah. Who could have? Those two? Kara Danvers, the literal embodiment of human sunshine and the Dragon Lady? No way.” James said and shrugged. “But hey, did you hear about Siobhan?”

* * *

“Send PR an email to schedule a meeting ASAP, cancel everything for the day. Call up a car and we’ll head out to the immigration office before lunch.” Lena said as Kara entered the office. “Hopefully we can get this entire ordeal settled within a week or so.”

“I’m—I’m sorry. But, what just happened? You want me to go with you—to the immigration office, to tell them that we’re getting married?” The blonde asked, absolutely blown away by the weight of what her boss was asking her.

“Mhm.” Lena said, not bothering to look up from the manuscript she was reading, her glasses sliding slowly down her nose.

“I’m not sure you understand.” Kara said. “You want me. To lie. To the federal government!”

Letting out a long suffering sigh, Lena took of her reading glasses and set them on the desk before pressing her hands together. “I had to. My hands were tied. They were going to give executive control to Siobhan.”

“And the logical decision was to wrangle me in your, your web of lies?” Kara sputtered.

“Kara. Do you know what would happen to this company if Siobhan became the executive editor in chief? No, scratch that, do you know what would happen to _you_ if Siobhan took my job? She would have you out of this building the second she took my office. And then, all of the late nights, the overtime, the midnight coffee runs and taxi flagging would have been for nothing. You would have to find another publishing company with a black mark on your resume and your manuscript? Your dream project? Gone.” Lena said and shook her head. Kara gaped. How could she just disregard all that she had done for the company, the countless hours she spent slaving over schedules and organizing time tables? How could Lena just shove this in her face?

“You—You’re just… I won’t, just, just stand by and let you—” Kara stammered, but her boss only turned her attention back to the manuscript in her hand.

“Sure you won’t. Now, please, hurry along and get the car ready.” Lena said, waving her free hand in the direction of the door. Kara balled up her fists at her sides and spun on her heel, eye twitching a little as she left the room. Fine. Fine. If this was how it was going to be, she could do that. If Lena was going to hold her career over her head, she could do the exact same thing back.

Right?

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One could say Lena made a "Modest Proposal " :D Sorry couldn't resist the Irish pun. Anyhow, thanks to everyone for the awesome comments and kudos! It means a lot to hear how much everyone likes the story so far!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sassy!Kara makes her appearance when she and Lena go to the immigration office. As always, please let me know what your thoughts are on this chapter and thank you so much for all of your comments! It really helps me continue on with everything.

Kara worried her hands in her lap as she sat next to Lena in the office of the immigration lawyer. They’d been waiting for almost an hour, much to Lena’s annoyance, but there wasn’t anything that could be done regarding it. She looked over at Lena for a brief moment and saw that the woman was still staring down at the manuscript that sat in her lap. Though she tried to come off calm and collected, Kara knew for a fact that Lena had been on that page for the last ten minutes and from the way her brow tensed, she was beginning to develop a headache from stress.

“Lena—” Kara started to say, but before she could get another word out, the door opened and a man in his late fifties barged in, an authoritative, no-nonsense air following him.

“Pardon me, ladies, it’s been a busy day. You must be Kara Danvers and Lena Luthor.” The man said reaching out to shake Kara’s hand first before offering it to Lena. “I’m Samuel Lane and I’ll be in charge of your case.”

He settled into his chair and picked up his mug. “I know you both have busy days ahead of you, so I’ll get straight to the point. Are you committing fraud to avoid Lena’s deportation so she can keep her position as editor in chief at Royce Publishing?” Lane said before taking a sip from his coffee cup, staring them both down.

Kara glanced over at her boss at a loss as to what to say. But, Lena didn’t seem nearly as shell shocked. In fact, she hardly missed a beat.

“That’s ridiculous. Where on earth did you hear that?” Lena asked.

“About an hour before you arrived, we received a phone tip from a woman—” Lena closed her eyes, a small smile curling at the edges of her lips.

“Would it be a Siobhan Smythe?” She asked. Lane looked at her in surprise but nodded all the same.  “Oh, Siobhan. I am so sorry that you had to deal with her. She’s nothing more than a disgruntled former employee. She has a bit of a vendetta against Kara and I. But, if that’s all you have to ask, I think we’ve cleared it all up.”

Kara watched, dumbfounded, as Lena began to collect her things, preparing to leave. Lane stared at her in equal surprise, though his expression was tinged with a hint of annoyance.

“Miss Luthor, you will remain seated until I say you may leave. Now, let me explain to you the process that’s about to occur.” He said, leaning across his desk to stare down at them. Kara squirmed a little in her seat, but did her best to match his gaze. “Step one. A scheduled interview. I’ll put you each in a room and I’ll ask you every possible question a real couple would know about each other. Step two. I dig deeper. I look at your phone records. I talk to your neighbors, your coworkers. If your answers don’t match up at every single point in the process, you will be deported indefinitely.”

Lane turned to face Kara specifically and jabbed a finger at her. “You, young lady, will have committed a felony punishable by a fine of $250,000 and a five year stint in federal prison. And let me tell you something, it sure isn’t Orange is the New Black in there.”

Kara swallowed and ducked her head, pushing her glasses back into place as she felt his gaze remain laser focused on her. $250,000 and five years. Oh God. Forget her job, her entire existence was on the line here.

“So. Kara. Is there anything you want to tell me?” He asked.

The blonde took a deep breath to steady herself. “You see, Mr. Lane, the truth is… Well, Lena and I. We’re—” Kara glanced over to her boss and saw the absolutely stricken look on her face, the terror and fear. God. She couldn’t. She had to. But she couldn’t. No. No, there was no way.

“We’re just two people who weren’t supposed to fall in love. But did.” Kara said as she reached out to interlace Lena’s fingers with her own, rubbing her thumb over the back of Lena’s hand. Even as she did so, Kara’s brain was working a mile a minute. If she was going to do this, going to put her entire life on the line, she wasn’t going to let Lena off so easily. “We couldn’t tell anyone we work with because of the big promotion I have coming up.”

That got both of their attention. Lane stared at her, brow furrowed.

“Promotion?” He asked.

“Mhm.” Kara said, squeezing Lena’s hand slightly to prompt her to say something. Anything. “We, we felt it would have been deeply, deeply inappropriate if I was to be promoted to editor—”

“Editor.” Lena echoed, but Kara continued.

“While we were… involved. And we’d been planning to tell people once, you know, I’d settled into my role at Royce a bit more and give people time forget that I was her secretary.” She said with a small smile.

“I see. And your parents, do they know about this?” Lane asked. Lena let out a sharp laugh and shook her head.

“Oh no. My parents are dead.”

He frowned and continued to press, “Brothers, sisters?”

“My brother is incarcerated in an Irish prison and cut off all communication with me over a decade ago. I couldn’t tell him even if I wanted to.” Lena said and Kara was startled to hear a faint trace of bitterness. The answer seemed to satisfy Mr. Lane though and he moved on to Kara.

“And you? Is your family dead too?”

“What? Oh no, her family, they’re all very alive.” Lena said, casting a faux sweet smile towards Kara. Just seeing the way her boss looked at her, forcing her to go along with this ridiculous charade… it sparked something inside Kara. Looking back at the man, she nodded.

“Very much alive, yes. They’re—well. You see, we were going to tell them this weekend. It’s my mom’s birthday and the whole family’s coming together to celebrate. So we thought it would be a nice surprise.” She said and gestured to Lena. “It was really all her idea, it was so sweet of her to think to do this.”

“And where exactly is this surprise going to happen?” Kara let Lena take the question, refusing to answer even when the other woman cast her a slightly panicked look.

“At Kara’s parents’ house.”

“Where is that located again?” He pressed.

Lena let out an awkward chuckle. “Why am I doing all the talking? It’s your parents’ house, why don’t you tell him where it is. Feel free to jump in at any time.”

“Midvale.” Kara said with a smile. The man stared at the two of them for a moment before shaking his head.

“Fine. If this is how you intend to play it, so be it. I will see you both at 11 o’ clock sharp on Monday morning for your scheduled interview, and your answers better match up on every account.” He said and glowered at them. “I’ll be checking up on you, so don’t for a second think that you can pull something.”

The second they were out of the immigration office, Lena was already back to staring at her phone, leading the way back to their car and rattling off instructions to Kara, who was lagging behind, burdened by both her purse and Lena’s.

“So, what’s going to happen is we will go up there, pretend that we’re dating, and tell your parents that we’re engaged. Use my miles for the tickets. I suppose I’ll spring for you to fly first class, but make sure you use the miles. And, don’t forget to confirm—Kara?” Lena looked back when she didn’t hear her assistant’s heels clicking after her. “What?”

“I’m sorry, but were you not in that room?” Kara said, incredulously. How could Lena honestly want to go through with this, when _everything_ was on the line? There was no way that she actually thought they had a chance at this actually working. Not when there was a federal investigation being lodged against them.

“What? Is this about the thing you said about being promoted? I have to admit, it was very convincing. He really did believe you.”  Lena said with a small smile on her face at the memory.

“I was serious.” Kara huffed. “I’m looking at a $250,000 fine and five years in prison. In prison! I won’t last five days in prison, forget five years! That changes things. So. I want the promotion.”

“No. No way, that’s not happening.” Lena said. Kara sighed and shook her head, holding out Lena’s purse for her to take.

“Then I quit.” She replied simply. When the woman made no move to take her purse, Kara dropped it onto the dirty sidewalk and turned away. “Good bye, Lena.” She said, heart pounding in her ears as she walked. If Lena didn’t take the bait, that was it. She would be out of a job, she’d have to go back to working at Barnes and Noble and she _hated_ working there…

“Kara! Be reasonable!”

“I really appreciate the opportunities I had working with you. Tell Winn I’ll miss him.” Kara said over her shoulder, still not turning back.

“Kara! Fine! Fine. I’ll make you editor. You win. If you do the Midvale weekend and the immigration interview, I will make you editor. Happy?” Lena hissed. Kara turned around to face the woman and bit her lip, trying to think of loopholes.

“Not in two years. Right away.”

“Done.”

“And!” Kara added, voice triumphant. “And. You’ll publish my manuscript.”

“Ten thousand copy first—”

“Nope, no, I want twenty thousand first run.” Kara cut her off, feeling a little giddy with power. Was this how it felt, to be in control of everything? To just have whatever she wanted? Nope, no Kara. With great power comes great responsibility and she had… she had to take this seriously. She was agreeing to commit a federal offense! “And we tell my family about our engagement when I want and how I want.”

“Alright.” Lena said, defeated. She clearly knew that there was no way out of this except to agree to Kara’s terms.

“Now. Can you ask me nicely?” Kara said, arms folded across her chest.

“Ask you nicely?” The brunette repeated, uncertainty clear.

“Ask me nicely to marry you. On your knee. Please.” Kara said with a quick smirk.

“Is this really necessary? It’s not even a real marriage, we’ll get a quick divorce in a few months and this will all be behind us.” Lena protested.

“What’s that? That didn’t quite sound like a proposal to me.” The blonde said, shrugging. Okay, so maybe she was enjoying this a little bit too much. But, as she watched Lena get down on one knee and removed the Claddagh ring from her right hand, Kara couldn’t help the way her heart raced. It wasn’t that she wanted to get… fake married to Lena. But every little girl had dreamed about being married, about someone getting down on one knee and pronouncing their love. Even if this wasn’t quite how she’d imagined it, Kara still felt something.

“Kara. Dear, benevolent Kara, will you please marry me?” Lena asked, tone dripping with saccharine sweetness. Glancing around, Kara saw that there was a small crowd gathering, watching the two women with interest. It wasn’t every day that a couple would just propose out in the middle of National City. Kara extended her hand and let Lena slip the ring onto her finger.

It was just a simple silver ring with the two hands cupping a heart, but something about it sparked something inside Kara. A kind of warmth that she’d never really felt before, towards anyone. Let alone her boss.

“Okay, the sarcasm wasn’t great, but we can work on that.” Kara said as she reached out to hug Lena. The other woman stiffened the second her arms wrapped around her and Kara whispered, “We have an audience. And no better time to start practicing than the present.”

Despite her words, Lena didn’t relax in the slightest. Letting out a sigh, Kara pecked the woman on the cheek for show and took her boss’s hand, pulling her away from the crowd of spectators.

“I’ll book a flight for tomorrow and send you the information.” Kara said as they made their way to the car. Lena didn’t respond. Instead, she pulled her phone out again and began to type madly away.

Right. Well, at least she’d tried. God, what was she getting herself into?


	4. Chapter 4

Kara plunked herself down in her seat, shifting to make herself comfortable in the spacious first class seat. She’d never flown first class before—the best she’d ever flown was that one time when she’d gotten lucky and scored an emergency exit row.

Yesterday had taken… some explaining. And a lot of moral encouragement from Winn. Honestly, Kara was so glad that she’d had Winn to help her process everything that was going on otherwise she wouldn’t know what to do. He’d convinced her to call up her sister again and tell her an abridged version of what to expect. Of course… that had gone about as well as could be expected.

* * *

“You’re bringing home your boss?!” Alex’s disbelief was readily apparent through the phone. “Jesus, Kara, and here I was freaking out about bringing Maggie. No, I don’t have a thing to worry about when we have the Daughter of Satan to contend with.”

“Don’t call her that.” Kara sighed before spooning more ice cream into her mouth. “And yes. Lena’s coming with me and I just… I have a lot I have to tell you guys. I just wanted to let you know that I’ll be there to help with everything.”

“But why is she even coming?” Alex asked. “Last I checked, Bring Your Boss Home isn’t really a thing. Kar, what’s going on?”

Kara let out a small huff. She hated lying and she hated having to lie to Alex of all people. But, this was all just a temporary thing. And at least she’d get the editing job out of it.

“I… You know me,” Kara laughed awkwardly, “Can’t keep a secret. Erm, I don’t know how to put this but… Lena and I. We’rekindofdating?”

“What?!” Kara jerked the phone back from her face, ears ringing at her sister’s loud exclamation. “Hold on, let me make sure I heard that right. You. And Lena Luthor. This is the same boss who you, the very definition of sugar and spice and everything nice, have called “the Wicked Witch of the West,” “Maleficent,” and “the literal incarnation of all that is wrong in the world.” That Lena Luthor?”

“I—Wicked redeemed Elphaba. And Maleficent, she made up for her mistakes. I can’t think of something for the last one, but she’s not that bad, Alex.” Kara whined, wishing that her sister didn’t have such good memory. “Trust me. You’ll see.”

“Uh huh. Well, I’ll believe it when I see it.” Alex didn’t sound convinced.

“Please, just give her a chance. And don’t threaten her either—she’s still my boss. Even if she is my g-girlfriend.” Kara stammered, the very word so foreign to her. Especially when it was being used in relation to Lena. Glancing down at her lap, Kara looked at the Claddagh ring on her left hand. It felt strange around her finger and knowing that it was Lena’s was even stranger.

“I can’t promise anything. But,” Alex took a deep breath. “I’m glad that you’re going to be there. And, hey, you’ll get to see Maggie again!”

Kara couldn’t help but laugh at her sister’s excitement. “Yup. And I can’t wait. But, I have to get to bed really soon. I’ve got an early flight to catch. Night!”

* * *

Kara was rattled out of her thoughts when a large binder was plopped into her lap. Blinking in surprise, Kara looked up and saw Lena stowing her bag in the overhead compartment.

“What’s this?” She asked, peering down at the cover of the binder. “Is this… is this a dossier about you?”

“We have four days between us and the interview, and this is all of the questions the INS will ask us. I expect you to have it memorized by the time Monday rolls around.” Lena said as she sat down, clipping in her seat belt. “I already know everything about you, so it’s up to you to learn about me.”

Kara couldn’t help but laugh, “You know all about me. Uh huh, okay.” She said and flipped open to a page. “I think you’ve actually got this wrong. I’m your assistant, so it’s kind of my job to know everything about you.”

Lena raised an eyebrow. “Oh really? Is that so? Well, in that case, what am I allergic to?”

“Pine nuts.” Kara replied promptly. “And baristas who get your coffee order wrong, apparently.”

“That was an isolated incident and do you have any idea how irritating it is to get a cinnamon latte that has no cinnamon in it, whatsoever?” Lena said.

“Most normal people would have just accepted the remade latte and not threatened to have the entire staff fired.” Kara said and shook her head. “Next question.”

“Hm.” Lena flipped through the pages before settling on one, “Do I have any scars?”

“Well, I’m pretty sure you have a tattoo.” Kara said slowly.

Her boss looked taken off guard by Kara’s observation. “And how did you come to that conclusion?”

“About two years ago, your dermatologist called and asked about a Q-switched laser. I googled that and found out that they’re used to remove tattoos. But, you had me cancel your appointment. So, what is it?” Kara asked, forcing herself to be as bold and as brazen as she wishes she was in real life. “A butterfly? Japanese characters? Barbed wire?”

Lena let out a wry laugh and shook her head. “Let’s move on.”

“You’re going to have to tell me where it is.” Kara added. “They’re going to ask.”

“We’re done with that question. On to the next.” Lena said as she skimmed through the book. “Here’s one. Whose place do we stay at, yours or mine?”

Before Kara could even respond, Lena cut her off. “I’ll just answer this for you. Mine. It’s obviously going to be mine.”

“And why wouldn’t we stay at mine?” Kara demanded, a bit hurt. She liked her apartment. Sure, Alex said it was a bit excessive with the color choices, but it suited her personality! And who didn’t like waking up to some nice bright colors?

“Because I live at National Park West and you probably live at some little studio apartment with stacks of yellowed Penguin Classics.” Lena said without hesitation. Kara opened her mouth, offended. Her apartment was a nice, open floor plan place with nice open windows. And sure, she did have a lot of books, but they were never in big stacks. No, Kara kept them nice and neat on her Ikea bookshelves.

Before she could say anything, Lena’s face took on a look of confusion that slowly turned to panic. “What happened to my ring?” She said, gesturing to Kara’s left hand, the Claddagh ring noticeably absent. “I swear, if you’ve lost my ring—”

Kara shook her head. “No! I would never lose your ring. It’s just…” She fumbled for words and sighed. “If we’re going to break the engagement thing to my parents, we’re going to do it the way I would do it for real. And I wouldn’t want to wear an engagement ring the second I step in the door because, trust me. My sister will notice and then she’ll freak out and then my mom will freak out and—it’s just easier this way.”

And besides. Even if Alex didn’t notice, Maggie would for sure. They’d only met once before, but Maggie was incredibly perceptive. Kara supposed it came with the territory, but still. If they were going to sell this whole thing, they were going to need to cover all their tracks.

“Fine. But where is my ring?”

“It’s right here.” Kara said and rolled down the top of her turtleneck to withdraw a thin silver necklace. Looped through the delicate chain was her Claddagh ring, safe. Lena let out a sharp sigh of relief before directing a curt nod Kara’s way.

“Good. We’ll do things your way, I promised you that much.” Lena replied as Kara tucked the necklace back under her clothes.

The pilot began to address the cabin. Kara shut her eyes and pulled her headphones over her ears to relax. But, before she could even attempt to drift off, she felt fingers poke her side. Opening an eye, she saw Lena staring at her, scandalized.

“Why are you sleeping? I thought we said we’d be reviewing Siobhan’s manuscripts.” Lena hissed. Kara sighed and shook her head.

“Vacation time. Weekend. I spent all night trying to find you a plane ticket so, I’m going to catch up on sleep.” Kara said and leaned back in her chair. She could practically hear Lena fuming from across the aisle from her and she couldn’t help but smile. Maybe it was a stupid idea to antagonize her boss like this, but… this entire thing was a stupid idea, that she’d basically been shanghaied into. So, Lena kinda deserved it.

* * *

Kara couldn’t help but smile as she saw Alex and Maggie waiting for them outside the airport, looking just as badass as she remembered them in their leather jackets. Kara had only met her sister’s girlfriend once before, but they had hit off quite well, once Kara had gotten over how intimidating it was for her sister be dating a real live cop.

“Hey kiddo. How was the flight?” Alex grinned, wrapping her sister up in a warm hug. Lena was lagging behind, dragging her own bags behind her rather pathetically. “And you must be Lena.”

“Yes, that would be me.” She said awkwardly, waiting for them to introduce themselves. Kara glanced towards her sister, hoping that she would take pity and break the growing silence. But, Alex and Maggie did nothing of the sort. Instead, they merely stared back at her, both wearing twin expressions of frigid disinterest.

“So, um, this is my sister, Alex. And this is her girlfriend, Maggie.” Kara said abruptly, just to end the unbearable silence.

“Pleasure.” Lena said, shaking Alex’s hand first before reaching out to grasp Maggie’s. The shorter woman shook her hand roughly and glared up at the taller woman.

“So, do you prefer being called Lena or Satan’s Mistress? We’ve heard both ways.” Maggie said, nudging Alex with her elbow. Kara blushed bright red and sputtered helplessly—okay, so she hadn’t always been particularly kind to Lena, but that was going too far.

“Maggie!” Kara hissed, “Be nice, please!”

“Actually, we’ve heard it a lot of ways.” Alex jumped in and began rattling off various rude names Kara had called Lena in the past. Before she could get too far, Kara covered her sister’s mouth with her hand and forced a grimace of a smile.

“She’s kidding!” The blonde laughed unconvincingly, “They’re just a bunch of kidders. That’s why they’re perfect for each other, because they… they kid.”

“Mhm.” Lena said, not at all buying Kara’s attempt at easing the tension. “Well. Thank you so much for… _allowing_ me to be part of this weekend.”

“Oh, you’re welcome. We’re just thrilled to have you.” Alex said with thinly veiled sarcasm as she led the group around the airport. Kara glared at her, begging her with her eyes to just knock it off. “Anyhow, let’s get you two back to the fort. No point standing around all day.”

Lena’s eyebrows shot up at Alex’s words and she glanced over at Kara, mouthing the words, _Two?_ When Kara only shrugged in response, it left the woman no choice but to ask for herself. “Both of us? That’s really not necessary, I have a hotel room in town.”

“Nah, we cancelled your reservation. Well, I didn’t. Mom did. According to her, ‘family doesn’t stay at a hotel.’” Alex said and nudged Kara with her elbow. “And if Maggie isn’t exempt, neither is Lena. So, we’re going to be one big, cramped family for the weekend.”

“That’s—that’s great. Wonderful.” Lena murmured and shook her head. Kara resisted the urge to sigh—if Lena wanted to do this, the least she could do was just go with it. Slinging her own duffle bag over her shoulder, she walked arm in arm with her sister and Maggie, chatting idly about what they’d been up to in Central City. Maggie had recently been promoted to detective, which made for interesting conversation and she’d even worked with Alex from time to time on a few cases that made it out of the Central City PD’s jurisdiction and into the federal.

“You’re an FBI Agent?” Lena cut in, her surprise apparent in her tone. Kara tightened her grip on Alex’s arm and cast her a tense smile. If they were actually dating, Lena would know that. And she’d know all about Maggie too. But, instead of Lena trusting her and actually asking about her own life, her boss had insisted that she already knew everything there was to know about Kara and brushed everything off.

Before Alex could question Lena, the brunette let out a laugh and shook her head. “Kara, you should have corrected me. This entire time, I thought you were a CIA agent. My mistake.”

Alex relaxed slightly and shook her head. “I was approached by them, but I decided the FBI was more aligned with my interests.” She said as they reached an adjacent airplane hangar and approached a small Cessna that sat inside. “Alright, Mags and I’ll go get our flight plan. Kar, you and Lena can start loading your things onboard.”

Kara nodded and watched as the other two wandered off before turning to face Lena.

“I told you that you’d be better off asking me those questions, not the other way around.” Kara said as she opened the cargo door to the plane and tossed her duffle bag in before reaching for one of Lena’s expensive bags. The editor did nothing, only stared at her. “What?”

“You never said anything about taking another plane.” Kara’s brow crinkled in confusion.

“Well, yeah. We have to. It’s not a big deal, we were just on one. And it’s a super short flight.” Kara said as she lifted Lena’s rolling luggage bag up. “Oh, Jeez. How much did you bring?”

“I brought everything I needed, thank you very much. I thought you said you lived in Midvale! Why do we need an airplane?”

“My parents only technically live in Midvale—they actually live on an island off the coast. The ocean is really rough this time of year, so we have to fly in. It’s not a big deal.” Kara said as she shut the door to the cargo area. She glanced back at the woman and noticed how pale she’d suddenly gotten. The way she stared at the plane… “Is there something wrong?”

“I’m not getting on that plane. I won’t.” Lena insisted.

“What? We literally can’t get to my parents unless you do.” Kara frowned. “C’mon, you were fine on the flight in here.”

“Because that was a massive, commercial airline!” Lena hissed, gesturing to the plane next to them. “This? This is a tin can with wings!”

“You’ll be fine, I promise. Alex has flown this hundreds of times. Now c’mon, let’s get in there and act like a couple.” Kara said and held out her hand. When Lena hesitated, Kara let out a small noise of frustration. “My sister and her girlfriend are very smart, very talented, very _discerning_ members of law enforcement. If we’re going to be engaged, we’ve got to convince them about this. Then we can worry about immigration.”

Lena scowled at Kara for a moment, but the blonde could see that she understood. There was no other way for them to make it out of this weekend in one piece unless they actively worked together to sell the story. Lena reached out and took Kara’s hand and they remained that way as they waited for Alex and Maggie to return.

“Alright, we’re good to go. Mom and Dad are expecting us in 30, so let’s move.” Alex said with her ever-present air of authority as she opened the doors. Kara held her arm out to Lena, letting her enter the plane first before following after. Maggie was already sitting in the co-pilot’s seat, headset on as she checked over the course one more time.

Kara strapped herself in before reaching for her headsets when she noticed that Lena was having trouble with the seatbelt. Her hands were trembling as she tried to clip the belt together, shaking far worse than Kara had ever seen before. Without thinking, Kara reached out and gripped Lena’s hands in a gentle but firm embrace. She rubbed her thumb against the back of the woman’s hand, a soothing motion that she continued until she felt the tremors recede and the fear leave her eyes.

“It’s okay. You’re going to be okay.” She said as she did the seatbelt for Lena, cinching it snuggly around the other woman. “It’s a quick flight. It’ll be over before you know it.”

“I hate flying.” Lena choked out with a laugh and shook her head. Kara bit her lip and reached out again for her boss’s hand. But this time, she didn’t let go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maggie and Alex have finally made their appearance and now things are finally getting fun. Kudos and comments are much appreciated and you can always shoot me a message at alexdanverswrites.tumblr.com


	5. Chapter 5

Lena couldn’t help but gasp as she looked over the picturesque scene that lay before her. The entire flight, her eyes had been shut tight, hand locking with Kara’s in a death grip so she had been unable to see where they’d been flying into. But, now that her feet were firmly on solid land, she was flabbergasted by what she saw.

The Danvers family home wasn’t so much a house as it was a castle. It rose from the woods that made up most of the island, a mansion in the midst of the wild. High columns, windows upon windows—Lena had seen her fair share of homes before, but this took the cake. As Kara helped her carry her bags in, Lena couldn’t help but stare at her assistant in shock.

Kara beamed back at her as they followed after Alex and Maggie, who were already headed up the long winding path that led the way through the woods to the house.

“Here we are. Home sweet home.” Kara said, her ever-present smile still just as bright as ever. Lena shook her head in disbelief.

“This is your home? Who are you people? Why did you tell me you were poor?” Lena demanded. Why would anyone take an _assistant_ position if they had this much money just lying around? Kara was a lot of things, but “Private Family Island” was not one of them. At least, Lena hadn’t thought it was. Just who was this girl?

Kara’s brow furrowed. “What? I never said I was poor.”

“But you never told me you were rich.” Lena said, exasperated. “The obvious assumption would be, you know, the opposite.”

“I’m not rich.” Kara corrected her quickly, facing Lena with an uncharacteristically stern expression on her face. “My parents are rich.”

“Really, Kara? That’s something only rich people say.” The editor sighed and shook her head. God knows she’d said it more than once in her life. Attempting to separate oneself from family—it was an exercise in futility. It was impossible. Even now…

Lena was jolted out of her thoughts when a flying mass of golden fur tackled her and began to lick at her face, coating her in a layer of saliva. Sputtering, she did her best to fend off the assailant and blinked in disgust when the weight was dragged off her.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry! Otto, bad dog, bad!” Kara apologized as she wrangled with the dopey golden retriever that was bounding around excitedly, pink tongue lolling out of its mouth in a happy puppy grin. “Lena, I’m sorry about that—my parents. They’ve got, well, they’ve got Otto. He’s usually really well behaved, but I think he just really likes you.”

Kara’s explanation fell on deaf ears as Lena struggled to her feet, doing her best to smooth back her hair and reclaim the usual sense of quiet assurance that she carried herself with. But, the moment that she felt any semblance of calm, Otto had worked his way free from Kara’s grasp and bounded towards her again. The happy ball of fur tackled her to the ground, tail wagging madly as he sniffed at his new friend.

“Otto! Back!” A male voice called from the house and the weight was lifted from Lena as the dog ran back to the house, obediently sitting by his master’s side. Looking up from the ground, she saw Kara holding a hand out to pull her up, a genuine expression of apology clear on her face. Lena wiped her face with the back of her hand, cursing silently when she saw she’d smeared her make-up, before ignoring Kara’s hand and pushing herself to her feet.

“Sorry about that. He’s a year and a half, too much energy from his own good.” The man from the porch explained as the two women approached the house. Kara beamed as her father wrapped her up in a tight hug while Lena stood off to the side, unsure of how to proceed. “Jeremiah Danvers. It’s good to meet you, Lena.” He said, shaking Lena’s hand with a firm grip.

“Pleasure is all mine. Thank you for… inviting me into your home. Though, it really wasn’t necessary, I assure you.” She wheedled, hoping against hope to get out of having to spend the entire four days with the Danvers clan.

He waved her comments off. “No, no. Family doesn’t stay in a hotel. Besides, I expect you and Kara would want to spend as much time together as you can and you can’t very well make the flight out every day.” Jeremiah said.

Lena swallowed. No, she wouldn’t at all. Damn. There was no good way out of this. Forcing a smile on her face, she nodded. “Well, I appreciate the gesture all the same.”

The man nodded and he reached out for her bags. “I’ll take those. Kara, why don’t you give her a tour of the house? Your mom is out for her afternoon run, but she should be back soon. We’re both very excited to have you staying with us.”

“Thank you, sir.” She said, grateful for him to take away her bags. As they stepped into the house, Lena realized just why Alex had referred to the family home as “The Fort.” The exterior looked incredibly intimidating with a more typical mansion aesthetic. But, the interior was surprisingly cozy with more rustic design choices. Warm earth tones were the general theme, along with natural stone work, refurbished wood, offset with more modern aspects like an open floor plan and massive windows that displayed the amazing view of the island.

Kara linked Lena’s arm in hers and pulled her to one of the adjacent rooms—it seemed to be a strange cross between a library and a parlor, she wasn’t quite sure which.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were some kind of Kennedy?” Lena whispered as they walked through the house, Kara speaking loudly about the different rooms.

“So, this was my grandpa’s reading room.” Kara said before adding under her breath, “How could I? It’s not as though you ever asked about my family at work. You never ask anyone about that sort of thing. You don’t even like us doing things at work for it.”

“It’s unprofessional to bring family into the workplace.” Lena defended.

Kara rolled her eyes. “Last year, you made us throw away Winn’s birthday cake. After we’d already cut it. Celebrating his own birthday is hardly bringing family into things.”

Lena rubbed the bridge of her nose with her free hand and shook her head. “Okay, you know what? This, this bickering? Fighting, whatever this is? It needs to stop. Your family need to think we’re in love. So, let’s…”

Kara shrugged innocently. “I can do that. I can pretend to be the doting fiancé. But, that’s gonna require you to calm down and just act like a human being who _doesn’t_ hate puppies and everything that’s good in the world.”

“Very funny.” Lena replied, unamused. “For the record, I love dogs. What I don’t love are slobbering furballs that make my mascara run.”

“Never would have pegged you for a dog person. I always imagined you with a fluffy white cat, you know. To go with your big office chair.” Kara teased, making a hissing noise under her breath.

“That’s a ridiculous stereotype.” She said as the blonde led her through the massive dining room that looked as though it could hold a dinner party of at least a dozen people. “So. When are you going to break the news to your family?”

Her question caught Kara off-guard, the mask of annoyance and bravado slipping for a brief moment, leaving her with the assistant she was used to working with. “I—I’ll figure it out. When the timing’s right.”

“Mhm. We’re on a time crunch, you know that, right?” Lena said. “We don’t really have time to waste for you to figure out when the ‘moment’ is right.”

“Oh, right. I forgot that I’m talking to Lena Luthor.” Kara let out a laugh. “The woman who proposed to me on the fly. You wouldn’t know what a right moment feels like if it bit you on the—Mom!” Kara exclaimed as Eliza Danvers entered the house from the backdoor, water bottle in hand.

“Kara! And this must be Leah.” The woman said with unexpected coldness. Lena blinked, taken aback by her frosty demeanor.

“Lena.” Kara corrected gently.

“Right. Apologies, I’m not really used to hearing your actual name being spoken. Of course, I don’t really hear much from my daughter thanks to the work you put her through.” Eliza said, glaring daggers at the brunette. But, before the woman could get a word out in response, Eliza turned to her daughter and smiled. “I’ll be seeing you later, dear. I’ve got to talk to your sister, but I’m afraid she’s been dodging me.”

The woman breezed by the two of them and Lena stared at Kara in shock. “What in the world was that?”

Kara rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. “That would be my mother. She’s… well, she’s never been too keen on me working at Royce. She just had all these dreams for Alex when she was growing up and then when those didn’t really work out, she’d hoped that I would take up the mantle. But, research isn’t really my thing. I was never interested in science as a kid.”

“She’s a researcher?” Lena said, surprised. Danvers… Doctor Danvers. Her eyes widened in shock as she realized just who the woman that she’d just met was. “Your mother is Dr. Eliza Danvers, director of the Midvale Bioengineering Department, isn’t she? She’s single handedly responsible for the development of the new techniques being used to link nerve cells with the electrical wiring of prostheses—oh my god.” The brunette cupped her hands to her mouth, mortified. Eliza Danvers had been one of the foremost thinkers in the field during her studies in college and to know that the woman thought she was the scum of the earth… “And your mother hates me. God.”

 “How do you know so much about what my mother’s done?” Kara asked, the tiny crinkle between her eyebrows making itself known as she stared at Lena.

“I—I review a lot of science fiction manuscripts. It’s my specialty.” Lena evaded the question, not wishing to disclose the full extent of her pathetic nerdiness.

“And my mom’s work comes up in sci-fi?” It was clear that Kara wasn’t buying it, but Lena refused to budge. She was not in the business of making a fool of herself, not any more than she already had.

“It’s not important. It just would have been nice of you to inform me of this before we arrived here.” Kara shrugged at her question and shifted her bag conspicuously, tapping the thick binder that was inside.

“Well, I’d told you that I knew more about you than you knew about me. I tried.” She said as they rounded the next corner of the house and were faced with the massive staircase that led to the other floors. “Downstairs is my dad’s lab. He likes to work from home sometimes. Don’t go poking around down there—the last time one of Alex’s girlfriends did that and she got her eyebrows singed off. It was an accident, but, um, she didn’t really come back.” Kara said before heading up the stairs, gesturing for Lena to follow her.

“The bedrooms are all on the second floor.” She said as they walked down a wide hallway lined with pictures on the wall. Lena glanced at them as they walked by and let out a small snort. There was a picture of a young Kara, arm in arm with an equally young Alex. Both of them were decked out in the most ridiculous punk rock attire she’d ever seen. Alex had an irritated, pained expression on her face while Kara looked characteristically cheery.

“What is this?” Lena asked, pointing to the picture. The blonde blushed when she saw which photo Lena was referring to.

“That would be the first concert Alex and I went to. This was during her weird punk phase and Mom had said she couldn’t go to a show unless I went too. So, we made a deal. I’d go with her to a Blink 182 concert if she went to an NSYNC concert with me.” Kara said and tilted her head towards a different photo a few frames away. Lena burst out laughing at the sight of teenaged Alex, still wearing her spiked choker and plaid pants with an utterly dead behind the eyes expression, being hugged by Kara who was decked out in an NYSNC shirt and holding a homemade glitter painted sign.

“That’s… that’s amazing.” Lena choked, unable to contain her laughter. The idea of a baby Kara Danvers of all people, in the middle of a pit of angry punk teenagers was incredible.

“Yep. That’s what Maggie said too.” The two women turned to see Alex and Maggie walking up to them. The smaller woman let out a strangled laugh as she got a glimpse of the photo again, making Alex glare at her.

“There’s just so much beauty in the world.” Maggie said, shaking her head to hide the small tears of laughter that were forming.

“Uh huh. Anyways,” Alex turned to face her sister. “Dad wanted me to let you know that we’re gonna start cooking for dinner soon. If you guys wanna wash up beforehand, go for it. And I’d recommend it, you smell like plane.” She teased.

Kara rolled her eyes exaggeratedly, but the smile on her face made it clear that she didn’t mind her sister’s playful ribbing. Lena couldn’t help but feel a small pang of jealousy. She remembered a time when she’d had that relationship with her brother. Back when things were simpler, before Lex had faced the weight of the world. Before everything had gone to hell.

Clearing her throat, Lena gave a tight lipped smile. “Why don’t you all catch up? It wouldn’t hurt to freshen up before dinner, now that you mention it. But, I’ll join you shortly. Kara, which room is yours?” She spoke over her shoulder, already walking away from the other three.

“Last door on the right—the bathroom is just inside.” Lena had already escaped into the bedroom, shutting the door behind her. Letting out a deep breath, she closed her eyes and attempted to calm herself. Her hand reached unconsciously to finger the Claddagh ring she usually wore, but were met with soft skin instead. Right. Kara had it.

Lena made her way into the bathroom and flicked on the light. Her own reflection stared back at her, the usual mask she wore still in check. Running a hand through her hair, she bit her lip. Four days. Four days to make the Danvers believe they were in love.

She just had to make it through four days and it would all be over.

She could do that. She had to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, in case you guys haven't noticed, I'm aiming to update this once a week, usually on Saturday or Sunday. But, this is a real busy time of year for me and I've been pressed for time most days. Long and short of it is, I'm hoping to update next Saturday, but pls don't come at me with torches if that doesn't happen. Anyhow, thanks for reading and see you guys next chapter! P.S. Who can spot my supergirl comic reference?


	6. Chapter 6

Kara flopped on her childhood bed, burying her head in the fluffy comforter as she let out a low groan. This was going to be so much harder than she’d thought. Alex and Maggie weren’t exactly the most receptive to Lena being there, but her mom was being even worse than she’d expected. And it wasn’t as though her mom was doing this out of any malice—she’d just always wanted what was best for her. In this case, she thought that Lena wasn’t what was best.

And, in a way, she wasn’t wrong.

Kara rolled over and gripped a pillow, cuddling it to her stomach as she tried to quell the thoughts that were racing through her head. She felt so wrong about lying to her family about this, but it was a necessity. If she wanted to prove herself, prove to her mom that her choice to be an editor wasn’t misguided, that she could actually make a career doing the thing she loved—well, she was going to have to make some sacrifices. She’d always known she was going to have to make sacrifices for her work, but she never expected them to be her last name.

“God. She’s probably going to want me to take her last name.” Kara whispered to herself, horrified. Kara Luthor. Oh God. Nope, nope, not at all. She just couldn’t abide by that. Bringing the pillow to her face, she let out a small scream of frustration.

“Mom’s already getting to you, huh?” Kara peaked up from the pillow and saw Alex leaning against the doorframe, a sympathetic expression on her face. Kara forced herself to smile, but her sister saw through it. She always did. Gesturing for Kara to scoot over, Alex flopped back on the bed and the two lay there, staring up at the glow-in-the-dark stars that decorated the ceiling.

“Do you remember when we put all those up there? And you were so set on making sure that they looked exactly like the constellations?” Alex said, pointing up to cluster of stars that made up Cassiopeia.

“I also remember you falling off my chair and smacking your knee on the corner of my bed.” Kara pointed out, thumping her hand on the solid bedframe. Alex winced and shook her head.

“That was awful, we don’t talk about that. But,” Alex cleared her throat, “If Mom gets too much for you, just let me know. Or Maggie. She loves you, you know.”

“Thanks. But, I think I’ll be fine. It’s just—she seems to really hate Lena.” Kara said, chewing her lip worriedly as she spoke. Alex let out a snort as she rolled over to look her younger sister in the eyes.

“Can you blame her? At last check, Lena was your boss. The person who had you leave the family reunion early—”

“We were going to lose one of our top authors, it was totally justified.”

“Who has made you work a solid 18 hour shift—”

“I wouldn’t call assisting at the book fair a shift.”

“Who had you do nothing but run coffee for the other interns for your first 6 months. Come on, Kara. You can’t honestly say that this would endear anyone to her.” Alex finished. “I’m willing to give her a chance because it’s you. It’s you and she’s dating you. But, Mom doesn’t see it that way.”

Alex squeezed Kara’s shoulder affectionately before sitting up. “Anyways, you should come help us fix dinner. And by that, I mean you should peel the potatoes so that I don’t have to.”

Kara bumped Alex affectionately as she slipped off the bed. “Hey, I expect you to do some of the work too.”

“I guess I can help. And hey, maybe we’ll be able to get your lady to help out too.” Alex teased as they headed downstairs to the kitchen. Before they could make it to the stairs, Eliza appeared from another one of the rooms.

“Kara. Can I have a word with you really quick? Alexandra, I think your dad is getting the grill ready with Maggie.” Eliza said. Alex rolled her eyes, but headed down the stairs. Kara could hear her sister grumbling from the top of the staircase, something about, “Not Alexandra, never Alexandra.”

“Kara?” Eliza said as they moved aside into one of the adjacent guest rooms.

“Yeah—sorry. Distracted.” Kara said, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose. “What’s up, Mom?”

“I just wanted to… ask you something about you and your boss.” Kara frowned at her mother’s word choice, not sure what she was getting at. Kara’s heart pounded in her ears as she realized what this might be about. Oh God. Did she know? Did she suspect? Out of everyone here, out of the literal law enforcement agents, her mom was the one to figure it out? Oh no, oh no.

“What is going on, Kara?” Eliza said, hands on her hips. “I don’t—I don’t understand. You show up after all this time with this woman you hated and now she’s your girlfriend? Explain this to me, please, because I certainly don’t understand how this works.”

Kara bit her lip and shook her head. “Mom, we just got here, can we wait before we get into this please?”

Eliza raised her hands to proclaim her innocence in the matter, but Kara knew that she wasn’t going to let up. “I just… I don’t want you to be known as that girl.”

“As what?” Kara asked, outrage leaking into her tone. What exactly was her mom trying to imply?

“You know… the girl who sleeps her way to the top. That’s what people are going to think and I don’t want you to have to deal with that. You shouldn’t even be at that firm, Kara. You’re so much smarter than just an editor.”

Kara sucked in a deep breath, staring up at the ceiling for a moment to steady herself. She was saying this because she cared. That’s all it was. Her mom was doing this because she wanted what was best for her, for all of them. But… God!

“Eliza. I’m not going to get into this with you right now, okay? We came here to celebrate your birthday and I wanted you to meet her. Not give her the fifth degree. So can we please just go downstairs and not talk about this?”

“Your father and I, we just don’t understand. That woman, she’s been nothing but awful to you. Your entire time working there, you’ve been miserable. And don’t tell me that’s not true, Alex has told us about your phone calls. You’ve got so much talent but you’re wasting it at that company. And I don’t want to see you waste your time with someone you’ve hated since you started working there.” Eliza protested. “I only want what’s best for you.”

“I know that. But, I know what’s best for me. So, please, let’s just go downstairs, peel some potatoes, and stop talking about all this.” Kara said, hand brushing against the fabric of her turtleneck. Her fingers toyed with the ring that rested against her collarbone, the ring Lena had given her for this whole charade, the ring that she would wear once they broke the news. But how could see say anything now? When her mom had made it abundantly clear that she hated everything about the relationship? Fake or not, it still hurt Kara to hear that her mom could be so opposed to someone she’d picked.

“Alright. But, we’ll talk about this later.” Eliza said as she led the way downstairs. Kara sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. She wasn’t sure how she felt—conflicted because she was lying to her family, of course. But, it just worried her. What if she fell in love with someone like Lena and this was how her parents reacted? What if they just couldn’t support her? They’d been understanding with her and Alex when they’d both come out, but this had nothing to do with her sexuality. This was about the person…

Kara scoffed and shook her head. What was she thinking? There was no way she’d ever fall in love with someone as self-absorbed, as callous, as rude as Lena. There was no way she’d ever do that. Reassured, she tucked the loose strands of hair behind her ear before heading towards the kitchen. A soft rustling noise came from one of the bedrooms, but Kara was out of earshot. If she had heard the noise, she would have turned around. And she would have seen Lena poking her head out from the room. And she would have seen the tears welling up in the corners of Lena’s eyes.

* * *

“And that was when he said, “I swear I have no idea how that got there,” with a face full of the stuff.” Maggie concluded, chuckles erupting from around the dining table. “But yeah. I think that’s about it in terms of interesting things that happen around the precinct. Alex does a lot more interesting work, but…”

“It’s classified.” Alex said over the rim of her water glass, raising an eyebrow at her girlfriend. Kara couldn’t help but smile. She hadn’t seen Alex this relaxed at a family dinner without the help of some liquid courage in ages. It was such a nice change to see in her sister.

“So, what about you, Lena. I’m sure you have some stories you could tell us about being an editor.” Jeremiah said conversationally. Kara glanced over at Lena, who was sipping delicately at her glass of wine. The woman dabbed at her lips with the napkin after setting it down, regarding the question with a thoughtful look.

“I work primarily with the science fiction manuscripts that come through our division. It’s always been a personal passion of mine, so I enjoy what I do. But, since I’m the executive editor, I don’t have as much time to do that as I like.” She explained.

“That must have been how you connected with Kara, huh? She told us she showed you her manuscript.” Jeremiah said. Kara felt her face burn with embarrassment.

“No—Dad, that was just…”

“Yes, actually.” Lena interrupted Kara as she spoke to Jeremiah, not looking at the blonde. “She certainly caught my eye with her manuscript. I’ve read plenty of stories about aliens—none of them terribly original, mind you—and hers was different. It has a lot of promise, which is why we’re looking to publish it.”

Kara gaped at Lena. They were publishing her book—that much had been agreed upon in the entire arrangement. But, she hadn’t actually expected that Lena had read it, much less tell her parents what she thought about it. What really shocked Kara though was neither of those things, though. No, what surprised her the most, what left her so startled, was the fact that Lena had actually read all of her book.

She’d seen Lena make it through the first page of a manuscript and throw it in the trash, seen her snort barely a paragraph in and discard the product of someone’s countless hours of work. For her to actually have read the entire thing… That was an amazing compliment in Kara’s book.

“So, that was how you to got to talking? And you figured out that my daughter was worth more than just being a coffee runner?” Eliza asked coolly. Kara shot a glance towards her mom, a glance that was mirrored by Alex’s alarmed expression.

“I’ve always known that Kara had promise beyond being an assistant.” Lena replied with an equally frosty tone.

“Really? And that’s why she’s been working for the last three years as—”

“Who wants desert? I could really go for some chocolate pecan pie.” Alex interjected, ducking her head to the kitchen. “Mom, want to help me serve? Awesome, thanks.” She said, patting her mom’s hand before hurrying into the adjacent room.

“Of course.” Eliza said with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes before following her eldest daughter away.

Jeremiah smiled kindly at Lena and leaned forward before speaking in a softer voice. “I’m sorry about how she’s being. It’s just… it’s all so unexpected.”

Kara rolled her eyes and let out a huff. The fact that her parents were reacting like this, to someone who they thought she was dating, someone they thought she was in love with. If this was how they reacted to someone she didn’t even care about like that, she couldn’t imagine just how devastating it would be for her parents to react like that when she actually found someone who mattered.

“A slice for Dad, a slice for Lena, two for Kara, and one for Maggie,” Alex gave Maggie a peck on the cheek as she set the final plate in front of her girlfriend. Kara shoveled a piece of pie into her mouth and let out a nearly audible squeal of happiness.

Lena was staring at her with a look crossed between confusion and—something else. It almost looked like she was amused. By Kara.

Blushing, the blonde looked down at her plate as she took another bite.

“Kara’s told me all about your homemade chocolate pecan pie, I can see why she loves it so much.” Lena said, dabbing at her the corner of her lips as she spoke.

“Mhm, it’s her favorite. We make it every time she comes home,” Eliza said evenly. “Which, thanks to you, hasn’t been for over 3 years. You work her to the bone.”

“Well, I can’t exactly show her favoritism in the workplace.” Lena explained, not looking up from her plate. Kara watched the two of them, eyes darting back and forth from the two women, fork stuck in her mouth. Alex seemed equally unsettled by the conversation, but neither of the sisters had any idea on how they could intervene.

“I see. At least you take your job seriously. I wouldn’t have assumed that.”

“And why is that?”

“What kind of executive actually dates their subordinate—it’s incredibly unprofessional. If you’re not going to take your job seriously, the least you could do is put that energy into the relationship. If that was the case, I would have thought that you would have wanted to meet her parents, her sister. Or perhaps you’re not interested in her at all—”

“Mom!” Kara hissed, unable to take it any longer. She might not be actually dating Lena, she might not actually like her. But she couldn’t just sit her and take it. “You can’t just say these things to her.”

“And why not? I’m simply trying to protect…” Eliza started, but Kara cut her off with a shake of her head.

“You can’t because we’re engaged! We’re getting married. And you’re, you’re just going to have to deal with Lena being here because we’re… we’re in love!” Kara blurted out. Alex’s fork clattered to her plate as she stared, wide eyed at her sister. Maggie covered her mouth behind her hand, though her slightly shaking shoulders made it clear that she was desperately holding back chuckles. Her father looked shocked beyond belief, an expression mirrored on Eliza’s face.

Before anyone could say anything, Kara grabbed Lena’s hand and pulled her from the dining table, tears welling up in the corner of her eyes. She dragged Lena out the front door, away from the judgement that radiated from her entire family. The bubbling, troubling anger and sadness in her family that boiled in her gut, that threatened to overwhelm her—Kara could barely understand it.

She didn’t even like Lena. So, why was she feeling this way?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo... you probably weren't expecting this update huh? I'm so sorry for going missing for so long; I'm really working to finish this story. Comments, kudos, and randomness are all appreciated. Come yell at me on tumblr


	7. Chapter 7

Lena wasn’t quite sure what to make of the whole event, but the moment Kara grabbed her hand and pulled her away from the family, she followed behind unquestioningly. A part of her wondered why Kara was so worked up about this, why she seemed so upset over something that wasn’t real. But, an even larger part of her couldn’t help but wonder why she felt so… happy that Kara was defending her. Defending them.

But, it wasn’t real. None of this was real.

“Kara, Kara. Stop!” Lena cried out as the blonde dragged her outside. At first, it seemed like Kara wouldn’t listen to her, that she wouldn’t relinquish her grasp. But after a moment, she released her hand, face unreadable.

“Why did you do that?” Lena panted out, slightly winded from the quick pace Kara had set for them. “It’s not important whether or not they care.”

Kara bit her lip, not looking at Lena. “I know it shouldn’t matter. I know that. But, to them—they think that what we have is real, that it’s an actual relationship. And if they can’t accept what they think is a real relationship—it, it hurts. Because what if I do fall for someone like--” She cut herself off, but Lena knew exactly what Kara meant. What if Kara fell for someone like her? A frigid, power hungry woman… a Dragon Queen.

“It shouldn’t matter. If they don’t support you, so be it.” Lena said brusquely, brushing away the troubling thoughts. “Nothing good comes from dwelling on a moot point.”

Kara glared up at her, her blue eyes filled with tears threatening to pour over. She held out a hand, shaking her head. “I’m not like you, okay? I care about my family and, this might be a foreign concept to you, but I want them to be in my life. And I want them to love the person that I love. So this, this whole thing?” She gestured between herself and Lena and then back towards the house. “You have no idea how much it hurts.”  
Lena put a hand on her forehead, staring at Kara, speechless. How could you even respond to something like that? To the accusation that she didn’t care about family? When her entire life, she’d spent it doing nothing but care about people who would never love her back.

The brunette shook her head and waved her hands in defeat. “Fine. Fine. Do whatever you like. But, if we’re going to make this work and get your parents on board, you can’t just fly off the handle like that. We need them to like us and if you run out every time your mother makes a dig at us, then we’ll be spending more time in the woods than actually convincing them that we’re a legitimate couple. So, please. For the sake of my citizenship and your freedom, let’s go back in there and make this work.”

Kara stared at her for a moment, unmoving. Lena folded her arms across her chest, doing her best to maintain her unaffected expression, but in reality, her heart was pounding in her ears. It wasn’t because of the family that was waiting for them in the house and it certainly wasn’t because of the blonde who was staring at her with those vibrant blue eyes. At least, that’s what she told herself.

After what felt like an eternity, Kara nodded her head. “Alright.” She said and sighed. “We’ll go back in there and give it the good ol’ college try. Again.”

“Good.” Lena replied and began to head back in the direction of the house. Which was… east? West? Where had Kara even taken them? “So, how do we get back from here?”

“Um…” Kara squinted and looked around them, hands on her hips as she surveyed the forest around them. Lena’s heart pounded in anxiety—if Kara didn’t know where they were, how on earth were they going to get back to the house? God, they’d run off in such a huff, would her family even bother to come looking for them?

But, her train of thought was interrupted by an almost musical laugh. Kara shook her head, a smile still on her face.

“You really thought I’d gotten us lost? Have a little more faith in me, please. C’mon. I’m sure they’re probably worried about us.” Kara tilted her head and started back towards the house. For a brief moment, Lena waited for Kara to hold out her hand, to reach out and take it as she had when they ran out of the house. But, the hand never came. Kara continued to pick her way through the forest without waiting for Lena.

Lena shook her head; why would Kara hold her hand? What had happened before had just been a knee-jerk reaction, there was nothing of it. She focused on hurrying after her assistant, clumsily picking her way through the brush. She’d never spent much time in nature as a child or any other time. No, she’d spent so much of her life trying to appease parents who never cared about her, whose shadows she continued to live in, even after they’d gone.

Too lost in thought, Lena didn’t see a tree root sticking out from a pile of leaves and the tip of her designer shoe snagged on it. Caught off guard by the sudden change of momentum, she was sent tumbling to the ground. Lena fell with a loud huff, stunned by the fall. She winced in pain as her ankle screamed in protest.

“Lena! Oh crap.” She heard Kara mumble as she doubled back and began to help her up. “Hey, are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Lena said, trying to brush the other woman off. She didn’t want Kara’s help, she didn’t need it. She hadn’t needed anyone’s help before, there was no point in starting now. Lena stood up on wobbly legs and took a tentative step. The second her foot touched the ground, a spasm of pain ran up her ankle and she nearly fell again. Instead, Kara caught her arm, her blue eyes staring at her with concern.

“Hey, take it easy. Let me help you.” Kara said and Lena found herself being swept up in Kara’s arms.

“How are you doing this?” Lena asked, startled, as Kara carried her past the thick overbrush and towards a path that the two had bypassed on their initial run out into the woods.

“I work out.” The blonde said off-handedly and set Lena down on a stump by the path. “Jeez, why were you wearing heels out here?”

Lena let out a huff of protest, “In case you forgot, I wasn’t the one who decided to sprint out the door. You dragged me out here. I didn’t exactly have time to grab my trainers.”

Kara’s cheeks shone bright red as she sputtered. “I—I didn’t mean to.”

“And yet here we are.” Lena said dryly as she removed her heel and massaged her aching foot.

“Look.” Kara sighed and leaned down to look Lena in the eyes. Her bright blue eyes captured Lena’s in an intense gaze, a moment where time seemed to halt. The brunette swallowed, uncomfortable by the sudden attention.

“You were the one who wrangled me into this, so technically, all this is your fault.” Kara said, tone matter-of-fact. “But, because you’re still, kinda my boss, I’ll help you. Even if you don’t want it.”

Lena stared, slack-jawed as Kara rolled up the sleeves of her cardigan and gestured for the other woman to stand up. With a small grimace of pain, Lena stood up and folded her arms across her chest while Kara stood in front of her.

“Okay. Now, get on my back.” Kara said over her shoulder.

“What?” Lena asked, scandalized. Oh no. No, no, no. “You are not piggybacking me back to your parents’ house! Do you know how humiliating that’s going to be?”

“And do you know how long it would take you to limp back to the fort? They’d probably break out a search team and that would be even more humiliating. C’mon.” Kara gestured again for Lena to get on her back. “Besides, basically everyone in the house has a background in at least some basic first aid. The sooner we get back to the house, the sooner we can put some ice on your ankle. Then you’ll be back to storming around in your 5 inch heels, just like always.”

“I do not storm around.” Lena protested, but she couldn’t see any other alternative.

“Oh, yes you do.” Kara said with a small laugh before reaching out for Lena again.

There really wasn’t any other choice. With a reluctant sigh, she wrapped her arms around Kara’s shoulders and let the blonde hoist her onto her back. Kara let out a small noise of effort as she began to walk back to the house. Lena leaned slightly away, not wanting to press against the other woman too much.

“Hey, don’t do that. Leaning back does not make this any easier.” Kara huffed as her hands shifted to better support Lena. The older woman rolled her eyes, but did as Kara told her. There was something… oddly comforting about being held by Kara like this. She understood it was completely out of necessity, but… that didn’t change how she felt about it.

The light from the house came into sight over the rising hill and Kara let out a victorious noise. “Awesome. That was closer than I thought.”

Lena raised an eyebrow, “What do you mean by that? I thought you said you weren’t lost.”

Kara let out a sputtering noise. “I-I wasn’t lost. I mean, I knew that the house was to the east and… We’re here now, aren’t we?” The blonde blustered as she hurried up the steps to the house. “Alright, I’m going to set you down, just lean on me and then we’ll get you inside.

Before Lena could move, the front door swung open and Maggie stared at the two of them, a grin spreading across her face as she took in the scene before her. “You two know how to make an entrance. And one hell of an exit too. Your sister’s been out there looking for you guys. I’ll call her and let her know you’re okay.” The cop glanced down at Lena’s foot and shrugged. “Mostly okay.”

Kara sighed and hurried inside, making her way to the living room where she set Lena down gently. Lena was startled by how gentle the other woman was—not that she ever expected Kara to be anything but careful, but still. She was almost tender. It wasn’t something that Lena had experienced in a long time.

“Mm, let’s see.” Kara said as she settled across from Lena. “Do you mind if I check out your ankle?”

Running a hand through her hair, Lena shrugged. “What other choice do I have?” She asked.

Kara rolled her eyes, but continued all the same, gingerly rolling up the hem of Lena’s pants to look at her ankle. There was some redness and slight swelling, but in the light of the living room, it didn’t look as nearly as bad as it had felt out in the woods. “I think you just twisted it. Can you wiggle your toes for me?”

Lena did as she was asked, frowning a bit as Kara pressed her fingers against the side of her ankle. “How do you know how to do this?”

“I did pre-med along with my English degree.” Kara said, still focused on Lena’s foot. “Can you turn your foot at all?”

The other woman stared, stunned. How had she not known about this? “I’m sorry, what? You were going to be a doctor?”

“Mhm, not quite. I was accepted into med school, but I declined. And how does this feel?” She asked, pushing on the base of her foot. Lena winced, but shrugged.

“It’s not bad. How did I not know about this?” Lena asked, confused. Kara blinked at her for a moment, adjusting her glasses.

“I left it off my resume when I applied at Royce. It wasn’t really necessary. And, besides, would you honestly have cared?” Kara asked as she stood up. “I’m going to get some ice and something to wrap your ankle, okay? Just sit tight.” Without another word, she hurried off into the kitchen, leaving Lena alone in the living room.

Slumping back against the kitchen, she pressed a finger to her temple. She’d been blindsided left and right ever since that tin can of a plane had landed—first it comes out that Kara’s sister is a freaking FBI agent, then she turns out to be basically a trust fund child, related to the Eliza Danvers, and was set to go to med school… three years ago? What? Kara had some kind of alter-ego, some double life that Lena had no idea about. What had happened to the mild-mannered assistant who had spent months running coffee and scheduling appointments?

Lena sighed and shook her head. She couldn’t dwell on that. None of it mattered. She just had to make it through these next few days of pretending. Then things would go back to the way they were. Kara would get what she wanted, Lena would get to stay in the country, and… she would be alone again. Just like before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for all the kind messages and words of support, it means a lot! Just as a heads up, I'm not up-to-date on Supergirl so characters like Sam, Ruby, or Imra who were introduced after Season 2 might not make an appearance. Also, as you might have noticed, I'm taking a few liberties with The Proposal's actual plot, so the fic will have some places where it diverges from the movie. Hope you all liked this little dose of a more vulnerable Lena!


	8. Chapter 8

Kara rummaged through the freezer, looking for a bag of frozen peas. Eliza had always kept a bag of them in the freezer while she and Alex were growing up, just on the off chance that something ever happened to either of them. Usually it was in the back--

"So." Jumping, Kara turned and saw Alex leaning against the kitchen island, a tumbler with whiskey in hand. Chewing the inside of her cheek, Kara restrained herself from commenting on the alcohol. She didn’t want to go down that particular rabbit hole right now.

"Do you know where the peas are? Lena hurt her ankle." She said, returning to the freezer. Before she could stick her hands back inside, Alex had moved to shut the door.

"Nope, we're talking about what happened before the two of you stormed off." Alex said, taking a long sip from her beer before speaking. "You two. Are engaged?"

Fidgeting with her glasses, Kara kept quiet, her mind racing. She was never any good at lying to Alex. Somehow, her sister always knew exactly what was on her mind and... given Alex's involvement with law enforcement, it would be kind of the end of the world if she figured out what was going on. It would mean serious prison ramifications for her and… for Lena it would mean the end of the life she’d built up. Going back to Ireland? Kara cleared her throat, pushing the thoughts from her mind.

“Mhm. It was… meant to be a surprise. We didn’t want to overshadow Mom’s birthday.” She said, staring down at the tops of her shoes. Kara could feel Alex’s gaze scrutinizing her while she wordlessly took another drink from her beer. “I just, I didn’t know how to tell you about this.” She sighed. In a way, it was true. She had no idea how to tell Alex anything about what was going on. Looking up, she saw that Alex’s stern expression had softened.

“Kara…” Alex said as she slipped next to Kara’s side, wrapping an arm around her sister. “I… I’m sorry that you felt like you couldn’t talk to me about this. I know that Maggie and I have had our hang ups about Lena in the past and that… definitelywould have made it hard for you to talk about this. I just, I want you to know that you don’t  _ever_  need to hide who you are from me. Or how you feel.” Alex leaned her head against Kara’s, her thumb rubbing against her shoulder in that way that always made Kara feel better in some small way. But… why did she feel so bad about this? She didn’t care about Lena, not like that. It must have just been the situation, that was all. Wasn’t it?

Swallowing the lump that had formed in the back of her throat, Kara nodded. She couldn’t tell Alex what was really going on, she couldn’t. There was no way she could explain any of what was going on. “Thanks, Alex.”

Her sister tilted her head, staring at her for a moment. “There’s something you’re still not telling me here. What’s going on?”

“It’s fine, really.” Kara said not meeting her sister’s gaze. If she made eye contact with her, Alex would give her that look that she always did and Kara would spill everything. She couldn’t do that, couldn’t afford to break now. “I just wanted this weekend to be focused on being a family and being here for Mom and… It’s just a lot going on right now.”

“Okay.” Alex said, though her tone sounded unconvinced. With a final squeeze of her hand, Alex sighed. “Well. This weekend got a lot more interesting than I expected. And here I thought the most that would happen would be Eliza badgering me and Maggie about getting married. Who knew that you’d beat me to the punch? And with the Dra—”

She cut herself off before raising a hand in apology. “Sorry. Habit. I’ll behave, I promise. But,” She handed Kara the glass of whiskey. “I think you’ll be needing this more than me when you find out what Dad has in store for you.” Alex patted Kara on the shoulder before wandering off. Kara stared at her sister, startled. What did  _that_  mean?

Remembering her purpose for being in the kitchen in the first place, Kara sifted through the freezer again and found the bag of peas (hidden by a large handle of whiskey, no doubt the source of Alex’s glass), grabbed an Ace bandage from the cabinet, and hurried back to the living room. Where she found Lena and her parents, none of whom looked particularly comfortable being in the same room together.

“Hey… what’s going on here?” She asked as she handed the peas to Lena, who took them without thanks, pressing them against her sore ankle immediately.

“We were just waiting to talk to the two of you about your… arrangement.” Eliza said. Jeremiah shot a pointed look at his wife before sighing.

“Your engagement. We wanted to apologize for how we reacted. It wasn’t fair to the two of you. It just caught us off guard. We assumed that Alex would be the one to break the news to us first, to be completely honest.” He said. Eliza opened her mouth as though to add something, but he interrupted her before she could continue. “But, we just wanted to know what your plans were for the wedding.”

Lena responded before Kara could say anything, “We were planning on going to the courthouse.” Lena cut in. Eliza glanced at her husband, raising an eyebrow. Kara cast a look at her boss; a courthouse wedding? Of course, that was their real plan, but they could at least pretend to be doing something a bit classier for the sake of her parents.

“Hardly the traditional wedding that Kara always dreamed of having. I remember the dream journal you used to have, with all of the plans you had in it. Kara would cut out pictures from magazines and stick them inside, you know. I think it’s still around the house somewhere—” Eliza said.

“We have such busy lives, it wasn’t really feasible to have a big, splashy wedding.” Kara interrupted, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose to hide the crinkle that she knew was forming. At least Alex wasn’t in the room, otherwise she would have called her out on it ages ago.

“And you didn’t want to invite your parents, Lena?” Eliza asked while Jeremiah tried to get a word in edgewise. His wife’s steely gaze pierced through the air, staring pointedly at the brunette.

“Oh, no. It’s hard to do that when they’re dead.” She said breezily, adjusting the peas against her ankle. Kara closed her eyes and took a sip from the glass still in her hand, just barely resisting the urge to bury her head into the pillows of the couch. This was terrible. This was all such a terrible idea—

“Then you won’t mind having the wedding here? This weekend?” Her eyes shot open and she stared from her mother to her father, who was nodding along. What?  _What?_  Was this what Alex had been talking about? Oh God. Oh Jesus. And knowing her parents, they would totally make it happen.

Lena seemed to see the panic on Kara’s face and spoke up, tone careful. “I wouldn’t want to put you through the trouble. And this weekend was for you, after all. We wouldn’t want to take away from your birthday.”

Eliza brushed Lena’s comment off with a wave of her hand. “We’d already planned to have some people tomorrow to celebrate my birthday, so why not turn it into an engagement party? And Kara’s always wanted to get married on the island. What better time than now? Like you said, you both lead such busy lives. I have many more birthdays to celebrate. I want to be there to see my daughter get married.”

“I just don’t think that there would be enough time for all this to be set up,” Lena tried, digging her elbow into Kara’s side. The blonde let out a small yelp before nodding in agreement.

“You really don’t need to go to all the trouble.” Jeremiah shook his head at his youngest daughter’s protests.

“It’s really no trouble. I already called up your uncle Jonn for a favor and he’s flying a few people in for it. One of the perks of owning an airline, I guess, I wouldn’t know.” He said with a small laugh. “But, he’ll be coming by tomorrow for the party.”

“It, uh, really sounds like you guys have planned everything already.” Kara said nervously, clenching the glass in her hand tightly.

“It wasn’t that hard to move things around, really.” Eliza said. “Lena, Kara lives so far away from us and I never see her. So, when I find out that she’s getting married and I have the chance to see my daughter’s wedding day, it’s a dream for me. Please. Let me see Kara get married.”

Kara glanced down at Lena, who had a bewildered expression on her face. Her boss let out a forced laugh and nodded. “Who am I to say no to that?”

Jeremiah smiled, the relief clear on his face, while Eliza nodded, her lips pressed together in a thin line. “Well. I think we’ve had enough excitement for tonight. We’ll see you two in the morning.” Jeremiah said and ushered his wife away before she could say another word. Kara listened to her parents head up the stairs and waited for their door to shut before she crashed onto the couch next to Lena, who immediately took the glass of whiskey from her hand. Lena took a long drink from the glass, leaning back against the couch heavily.

“Oh my god.” Kara mumbled, shaking her head. How had this happened? The plan had been to just get married at the courthouse, stay together until the government wasn’t on their back, and have a quiet divorce somewhere down the line. Easy, simple, no fuss no muss. And now her parents were throwing a shotgun wedding, at their house, trying to recreate the wedding plans she’d made when she was ten years old and barely understood what it meant to be married.

“This can’t be happening.” Lena echoed her feelings, taking another sip from the glass. Swallowing, she continued, “I still can’t get my head around this whole... thing.” She gestured to the lavish room around them, the top of the line television and furnishings that looked like something out of a home improvement catalog. “Your uncle owns an airline? What exactly do your parents  _do_?”

Kara sighed and pressed her face into a pillow. This was a horrible idea. “Hisnodmyuncle.” She mumbled through the fabric and fluff.

“Excuse me? Sit up, Kara, really.” Lena scolded. The blonde let out a huff before sitting upright, strands of blonde hair flying free from her ponytail.

“I said, he’s not my uncle.” Kara sulked, folding her arms across her chest. “He and my dad were friends in college and stayed in touch over the years.”

“But he owns an airline? And he’s just casually flying people out here?” Lena asked as she took a final drink from the glass. Turning to look at Kara, she regarded the blonde for a long moment, her piercing green eyes staring at her. Kara shifted uneasily, uncertain of what to make of her boss’ intense gaze. “Who even are you?” Lena finally asked.

Shrugging, she matched her boss’ bewildered expression with a resolute stare. “I’m Kara Danvers, same as I ever was. I guess you’re just learning now.” Kara said before standing up. “I’m going to bed. C’mon.”

“What?” Lena stared at her, confusion even more apparent on her face.

Pointing at her foot, Kara gestured for Lena to stand up. “Your foot. I’m not going to make you limp up the stairs.”

The brunette reluctantly extended her hand to Kara, who pulled her to her feet and picked her up easily. Her boss really didn’t weight that much to her, so it wasn’t any problem for her to climb up the stairs with Lena in her arms. Doing her best to ignore the way that the other woman felt in her arms, she pushed the door open with her foot and set Lena down on the edge of the bed.

The second Kara closed the door behind her, Lena folded her arms across her chest, her usual chilly demeanor returning. “You’re sleeping on the floor tonight.”

“On the floor?” Kara echoed, jaw dropping. “It’s my room! That’s my bed!”

“And I’m your boss. Who also has a twisted ankle, thanks to you storming off. Here.” Lena tossed the duvet and a few of the pillows down onto the ground. “That should be enough for you, right?”

Letting out a sigh, Kara shook her head. “Fine. Whatever, fine.” She conceded. Flipping the lights off, she lay down on the floor and pulled the duvet over her head. She just had to make it through this weekend. So what if they had to get married in front of her immediate family and Uncle Jonn and all of their close family friends? Swallowing the lump that had formed in the back of her throat, Kara pressed her face into the fluffy duvet in an attempt to shut out her growing worries. Nope, no problem. None at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thank you so much for your support of this story! It means the world to me that so many people enjoy this fic, it really does.


	9. Chapter 9

The sun peeked through the wooden slats of the blinds, its rays reflecting off the cheery ocean waves surrounding the island. Lena groaned, eyes squinting into the bright light that bounced directly into her eyes. Ugh. Everything about this place was so picturesque—couldn’t they even have black out curtains? But, once she’d woken up, there was no going back to sleep for her. Sitting up a bit in bed, she craned her neck to check on Kara, who was dead asleep on the floor, her blonde hair fanned out around her on the carpet. A small streak of drool ran down the side of her cheek and Lena resisted the urge to laugh.

A knock from the door made Lena jolt upright in bed, startled.

“Girls? Are you decent? I made my famous banana pancakes for you.” Jeremiah called from outside the door while Lena frantically waved at Kara. Unfortunately, her assistant seemed to be a hard sleeper and hadn’t even moved at the sound of her father knocking.

“Just a minute!” Lena called before lowering her voice, “Kara. Kara!” Lena hissed, eyes darting around her as she tried to find something to get Kara’s attention. Looking at the edge of the bed, she grabbed one of the decorative pillows and hurled it at her assistant’s head. The blonde groaned, rubbing her head before she glared up at the brunette, who gestured for her to join her on the bed.

“Everything alright in there?” Jeremiah asked. Kara’s eyes widened at the sound of her father at the door and immediately put two and two together. Scrambling up from the floor, she kicked the duvet under the bed and flopped onto the bed next to Lena.

Lena stiffened when Kara’s arm was thrown around her stomach and she slapped her assistant away. This was  _not_  a part of their arrangement. She was going to have words with her as soon as the Danvers clan was away.

“Ow! Jeez!” Kara hissed, pulling her hand back to lay on the covers. “Come in!” She called.

Jeremiah pushed open the door, a tray laden with food in his hands. “Since you two have a big day ahead, I thought I’d bring breakfast to you. Maggie and Alex have volunteered to take Lena into town to get fitted for a dress before the party this afternoon. And,” He added, noticing the color drain from the editors face, “It’s a calmer day, so they’ll be taking the boat in. Kara, if you can help me and your mom arrange some things for the wedding tomorrow afternoon, that’d be helpful. Eliza said that she’d be taking you to get your dress sometime tomorrow morning.”

Placing the heavy tray on Kara’s desk, he smiled at Lena warmly, “Thank you for letting us see our daughter get married. I know that work is important to the two of you, but I’m glad that family comes first.”

Lena swallowed and shifted in bed, her hands tightening into anxious fists under the covers. “You really didn’t need to go to all this trouble.” She said, uncomfortable by the gesture. Someone making breakfast in bed for her? It didn’t happen, not to a Luthor.

Jeremiah waved her comment a way. “Don’t be silly. This is the biggest day of your life. I know the others have some… biases, but you’re coming into this family. And when it’s family, it’s no trouble. If your parents were with us, I bet they’d do the same for Kara.” He said before shutting the door after him. Lena’s stomach turned. Her parents? No, they most certainly would not do something like this. Her mother would have railed for days about what a mistake she was making and her father, well… who even knew if he would have cared.

The second the door was closed, Kara practically vaulted out of bed and began to stuff bacon into her mouth.

“Your dad is too sweet. I haven’t had someone make me breakfast in bed since I was a little kid.” Lena sighed, shaking her head. And even then, it was never something made by her parents. It was the family chef, who pitied the lonely girl who wandered the hallways of the cold Luthor manor.

“He’s wonderful, but I almost wish he hadn’t… He nearly caught us.” Kara said, now chewing on a large piece of banana pancake. Holding up a piece of bacon, she offered it to her boss. “Want some?

“How are you so… blasé about this? Your parents made us breakfast in bed.” Lena said, a slight pang of guilt stabbing her as she rose from bed to take in the spread that Jeremiah had made for them both. Pancakes, bacon, sausage, fruit salad, coffee  _and_  tea. And a goddamn jar of flowers on the side of the tray? Jesus.

Kara blinked for a moment before glancing back down at the food. Lena couldn’t help but notice that her blue eyes were so much clearer when she wasn’t wearing her glasses. “Yeah. They just kinda do that when I come home. It happens to Alex too and she hates it. Maggie gives her a lot of grief for it.”

Lena shook her head, incredulous, before taking the bowl of fruit salad from the tray back to the bed.

“Anyways, we need to talk about what happened yesterday,” Kara said as she cut into another pancake.

Lena cast a level glare across the room, “Oh really? Which part about yesterday? When you told your parents that we were engaged? Or how about when you ran off into the woods? Or better yet, the fact that your father’s already planned out our nuptials?” Lena asked, her tone raising in pitch as she spoke. Kara waved her hands frantically in a shushing gesture.

“All of it, I guess? Just, keep it down, please!” Kara begged as she sat down on the desk chair, tucking her feet underneath her. “If we’re going to make it through today, you’ve got to know more about me. Everyone who’s going to be here, they’ll know if you’re making things up. My Uncle Jonn is practically telepathic, he’s that good at reading people.”

Lena let out a groan. Of course he was. Why wouldn’t he be? “Is he also a trained Air Force pilot, combat certified in three different guns, and a linguistic mastermind?” Lena mumbled. Kara tilted her head, confused.

“He’s retired and it’s four guns, but yeah. How’d you guess?” Kara asked through a mouthful of pancake.

Lena closed her eyes. For the love of all that was good, why. Why was this her reality right now? Had she stepped into some kind of alternate universe? “Because that’s just how this seems to be going. Why didn’t you tell me that literally all of your family is involved in some government agency or another?”

“You never asked! You dragged me into this and I, I didn’t have a choice!” Kara protested, “If you’d gotten to know me before now, you would have known.”

Letting out a resigned sigh, Lena rubbed her temples, “Well, it would seem knows the time for you to tell me more about yourself.”

Kara nodded, though there was an almost triumphant glint in her eyes as she slipped her glasses back on. “Told you you’d be the one to need a dossier, not me.”

The editor quirked a perfectly arched eyebrow. “Need I remind you that I am still your boss? Now, explain your whole… family situation to me.”

Swallowing thickly, Kara launched into her lengthy explanation, “My dad used to do work with one of the off-shoots of Magnus Labs, specifically in their chemical engineering department. He met my mom through a mutual friend and eventually left Magnus to work with her at S.T.A.R. Labs in their R&D department. She got offered a position at the university and has done that for a while, but my dad stayed with S.T.A.R. My Uncle Jonn met my dad back in college and they worked at Magnus together right after they graduated; he did aerospace for them but left when he had the opportunity to partner with some other people. Anyways, the business side of stuff isn’t too important.

“Alex has PhD’s in Bio-engineering and Criminology and worked for a private security task force for a few years before she accepted a position within the FBI’s Science and Technology Department. She can’t really talk about her job, but she’s very good at what she does. She met her girlfriend, Maggie, about…” Kara paused as she took a sip of tea, “Four years ago while doing field work. They had overlap on a case that they still can’t tell us about and the rest is kinda history. They live in Central City, but I think Alex wants to move to National City at some point.” Nodding to herself, she looked over the rim of her mug. “I think that’s it. Any questions?”

Lena stared, speechless. “No wonder your mother hates me. Oh my god. Your entire family is literally… you’re a superfamily. This is… oh God. Why are you my assistant?” She asked, completely at a loss. What with her checkered family history, the highly publicized trial against her brother, and her very public last name, this was a train wreck. No, this was beyond a train wreck, it was a disaster of the highest proportions.

She was so wrapped up in her own thoughts that she didn’t noticed the way Kara’s bright expression faded to a slight frown.

“I’m your assistant because I’m more than my family. I thought you of all people might understand that.” Kara muttered. “Anyways. That’s that. What else did we need to cover?”

Lena opened her mouth to suggest getting their stories straight when her phone buzzed on the bedside table. Holding up a finger, she reached for her phone and scrolled through the emails that had already begun to clutter her inbox. A frown began to tug at the corner of her lips as she opened up the most recent email from Cat Grant.

“Goddammit! You’ve got to be kidding me.” She growled, typing out a sharp email to Cat. Kara looked up from her plate of food, confusion apparent on her face.

“What happened?” The blonde asked. Lena briefly glanced up from her phone before shaking her head. She couldn’t be bothered with this right now. If Cat backed out, that would mean everything she had worked for, everything she’d thrown away, would be for nothing. Lena threw a sweater over her pajama shirt, already punching in Cat’s personal number as she pushed open the door.

“Where are you going? We really need to talk!” Kara asked, trying to follow Lena out the door.

 “I’m going to talk some sense into Cat, that’s where I’m going.” Lena growled, already making her way down the stairs. The phone rang as she pushed her way out into the backyard, which was immaculate. Of course it was. Perfect house, perfect backyard. Complete with the perfect puppy that joined her as she slipped out the backdoor, pink tongue lolling out of the side of its mouth. Lena wrinkled her nose in distaste as the puppy tried to lick her face.

“No, no, go away.” She muttered at the dog as the phone continued to ring. She had to make sure that this deal went through, it didn’t matter what it took. Lena was going to make sure Cat appeared on Oprah come hell or high water. This was her shot at having an author on Oprah’s Book Club and she wasn’t going to let this opportunity go by.

“Leah, I am not going on that damned show.” Cat said before Lena could even get a word out.

“Oh really? I would have thought that you would have jumped on the chance to discuss your latest book with her. You two have an awful lot in common, both of you being self-made women in a man’s field, after all.” Lena said, her tone firm but cajoling. She needed Cat to think that this was her idea, not Lena’s.

“However, look at Oprah’s target audience compared to mine. She’s marketing to middle aged housewives who spend their afternoons flipping through the channels. That’s not who I’m looking to impact.”

“And who do you think those middle aged housewives influence? Their daughters. And you can bet that they will see that Oprah’s Book Club sticker on the cover of your book in the Barnes and Noble and it will remind them of what a truly empowering figure you are.” Lena replied smoothly. “And those housewives? They’d love for their daughter to follow the guidance of a woman who speaks about her experiences in a frank and honest way.” Otto looked up at Lena with a piteous expression, begging for her to pick him up with those warm brown eyes. Making a face, she paced around the backyard, the puppy trailing behind her as she walked.

“So you want me to be happy about my book languishing on the shelves of a college dorm room, collecting dust? I don’t think so.” Cat snapped. “At least get me on Ellen, if you’re trying to make me relatable to the youth.”

“So you can have a lackluster 3-minute interview followed by some overblown party game?” Lena shot back. Besides the fact that they didn’t have any connections to Ellen, it really wouldn’t suit Cat at all. She couldn’t imagine seeing the no-nonsense woman getting on that show and making a fool of herself on day time television. “You’ve said it yourself, women are the future of this industry. And what better way to reach them than through the most powerful person in the home? The mothers.”

Lena continued the pace, making faces at the dog in an attempt to shoo him away. That silly dog just wouldn’t quit, would he? She could certainly see the family resemblance to a certain doggedly determined assistant. A small smirk quirked at the edge of her lips at her own little joke and she turned to face the ocean, not noticing the large bird that was circling overhead.

“I thought you were more than just a cliché. You’re Cat Grant. Don’t be the wishy washy writer who changes her mind every two seconds.” Lena pressed, knowing that her comment would spark the fire that she needed in Cat. A shadow blocked the sun from her eyes, catching her attention. She glanced up and was horrified to see a hawk swooping down from the sky, talons outstretched and poised to lift Otto out of the air.

“Can you hold on just a second!” Lena said, dropping her phone to scoop the puppy into her arms, flailing her arm in the air as she tried to scare away the bird. The hawk let out a shriek, banking sharply away from the woman. Lena glanced over her shoulder to check that the bird was no longer after her before hurrying to her phone.

“I’m so sorry about that.” Lena apologized as she scrambled to the phone, holding Otto in the crook of her arm while the dog panted, silly puppy smile still on his face through it all. “Lost reception there for a moment.”

“Mhm. And you say I’m the one losing my nerve.” Cat said flatly, her voice betraying little.

“Cat…” Lena glanced up and saw the hawk turning around, murderous intent in its eyes at it began to swoop towards them again. “This book is your legacy! And your legacy deserves nothing but the best. Call-me-tomorrow-with-your-decision, myphoneisalwayson talktoyousoon!” Lena managed before she waved her hand with the phone at the hawk.

To both her and Otto’s surprise, the hawk grabbed her phone in its sharp talons and flew off. Watching with wide eyes, Lena’s mouth fell open, slack-jawed. This couldn’t be happening. This was not actually happening, it couldn’t be. Her only connection to the outside world, to her job, to  _Cat_. Gone. Flying off to God knows where.

In her arms, Otto squirmed, prompting Lena. Holding the golden retriever puppy up, she ran after the bird, yelling at the sky, “Take the dog! Give me the phone back, you can have him!” She cried out. If she had stopped to turn around, she would have noticed Maggie and Alex watching from the window of their room, the cop’s shoulders shaking with laughter while Alex scowled.

Lena continued to dangle Otto in the air until she heard the door to the backyard open and shut. She glanced behind her and saw Kara hurrying down the steps of the porch, wrapping her robe around her.

“What are you doing?” Kara hissed as she pried Otto from Lena’s grasp. “Are you crazy?”

“A hawk stole my phone!” Lena growled, pointing at the now empty skyline. Kara’s eyes flicked across the sky for a moment before returning to Lena, skepticism on her face.

“You really are crazy. Oh jeez… Otto, did she hurt you?” Kara asked, tickling the puppy’s tummy as it licked her cheek.

With an irritated sigh, Lena pointed at the sky once more. “A hawk swooped in and tried to take the dog, so I saved it. Then the thing came back and stole my phone! Cat’s going to call me on that phone, I need it back! Give me that dog back, maybe the hawk will come back.”

Kara stared at her for a moment before shaking her head, “First off, I’m not letting you use my parent’s puppy as bait. Second, relax. I’ve got all your information backed up on your laptop. I’ll just get you a new phone and switch the number, no problem.”

Lena was about to snap back with a sharp retort, but as she processed Kara’s words, she realized the rationality of her statement. Swallowing her words, Lena gave a curt nod. “Fine.”

“Good. Now, come inside and stop freaking out the puppy.” Kara said, heading back into the house, puppy still in her arms. Lena let out a long suffering sigh, rubbing the bridge of her nose in an attempt to stave off the headache she could already feel brewing inside. Her first full day with the Danvers clan was off to a fabulous start. She honestly was dreading to see just how much worse it would get.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It was really fun to write the little bit with Cat, so I hope that you guys liked it. Also, fun fact: part of the reason why things might be more than a bit different from the movie is because I only recently realized I was using an outdated script that wasn't the one used in the movie! Anyways, I hope you guys liked this chapter!


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As a heads up, this chapter will be jumping around from perspectives because I realized that one long weekend is an insane amount of time to try and get a wedding done. I needed Lena and Kara to divide and conquer those tasks and, it's an interesting peek into how they both function separately from the other. Anyways, hope you like this one!

Kara popped a strawberry into her mouth, earning a light slap on the wrist from her father, who shook his head. “You never change, do you kiddo?” He chuckled as he set about slicing up the rest of the strawberries for a fruit salad. The fort was surprisingly quiet now—after Maggie and Alex had managed to corral a rather unwilling Lena onto the boat back to town, Kara’s mother had disappeared down to the basement lab which left Kara and her father to begin their preparations for the engagement party on their own.

Well, not entirely on their own. “You’re going to help us aren’t you, Otto?” Kara cooed as she picked the sleepy puppy up off the ground. The golden retriever yawned widely, blinking for a moment before licking Kara’s nose. “What a sweet boy.”

“He’s a good one. It was cute seeing Lena playing with him out there earlier.” Her father said, gesturing to the windows that overlooked the backyard with his knife. Kara let out a strangled cough to hide her laugh. Lena, playing with Otto? That’s how it looked to her dad? Oh jeez, he’d definitely misinterpreted things.

“Um, yeah. I think he’s growing on her.” She replied, focusing on the cuddly puppy in her arms rather than her father.

“I had a feeling he might.” Jeremiah smiled as he wrapped cling film over his prepped fruit salad. “He has a way of doing that. It’s sweet to see her getting along with him.” He said as he began lay out a tray of cheese and assorted meats for their guests.

Kara nodded, setting Otto back down on the ground when he squirmed. The little pup trotted away, tail wagging as he did so. Kara let out a small sigh; this was so much harder than she’d ever thought it would be. Lying to her parents, pretending to be engaged… And to have her father wholeheartedly support her? God.

“Hey, Dad?” Kara asked as she washed her hands so she could help him arrange the meat and cheese board he wanted to put out.

“Hm?” He asked, still focused on slicing thin pieces of salami.

“Why are you doing all of this?” She asked. Jeremiah glanced up, his expression neutral.

“Your mom and I thought it would be a nice opportunity—”

Kara shook her head. “I know how Mom feels about Lena. She wouldn’t have wanted this. Why did  _you_  want us to get married here?” She asked, resting her chin on the cool granite countertop. Jeremiah let out a sigh and shrugged.

“I love you, Kar. We don’t see you enough and I want to be there to walk you down the aisle. And, if you love Lena, I love her too.” Raising a hand to stop her from speaking, he nodded. “I know we haven’t had the kindest of opinions of her in the past. But, you obviously care about her. And I’m sure she loves you too. I want you to be happy and if she’s what makes you happy, who am I to get in the way of that?” Jeremiah said with a smile.

“And I’m sure your sister understands that too.” He said. Kara raised an eyebrow and he let out a sigh.

“I’m sure Alex’ll understand that soon.” He amended.

***

If the loud, rowdy music wasn’t enough to tell her where they were, the heavily perfumed air mixed with the smell of alcohol was enough to clue Lena into where Maggie and Alex had taken her and she was not pleased. Arms folded primly across her chest, she shook her head as the two women helped her sit down.

“Why did you feel the need to blindfold me? I know it’s a strip club.” Lena asked, her back ramrod straight. Lena heard the sound of liquid sloshing in an ice filled glass—Alex, she assumed. “Do we really need to be drinking? It’s ten thirty in the morning. Better question; how did you find a strip club that would be open at ten thirty?”

“Jesus, you don’t relax at all, do you? To think we pulled all those strings to make this happen.” Maggie asked. Her nose twitched as the perfumed smell intensified and she frowned.

“What’s that smell?” She asked. Before Lena could prepare herself, the blindfold was whipped from her face and she found herself face to face with the source of the overly artificial strawberry smell that she'd detected while blindfolded, though the entire air seemed to be filled with the stuff. The woman dancing in front of her, though Lena used the term dancing quite loosely. Most of her movements were less of a dance and more just shaking her ass in a suggestive manner. Recoiling, Lena watched as the woman made her way up to the stage and began to perform some downright impressive acrobatic feats on the pole. Situation notwithstanding, she could at least admit that the dancer was very athletic.

"Just keep your hands to yourself when she comes down here." Alex said, leaning back in her chair. "I don't want to have to tell Kara that you were getting handsy with a stripper.

"Trust me, you won't have to worry about that." Lena said, averting her eyes from the woman who was continuing to dance in time to the pulsing music. Besides the man cleaning glasses behind the bar, it seemed the place was empty. "Did you guys ask them to open early or something?"

"I may have pulled a few strings." Alex said. Maggie shot her a questioning look and the older Danvers backtracked. "Not those kind of strings! Family connections." Now it was Lena's turn to raise an eyebrow. "Family connections to a strip joint?"

"Watch it, Luthor." Alex shot back, but there was no venom in her tone. Maggie let out a laugh and tilted her head towards one of the booths. "Let's keep it civil, you two. We came here as joke and a drink, because I think we could all use one before the fitting. Want to head over to a booth instead?" Maggie asked.

Lena nodded and followed the other two women to the booth. Alex raised a hand towards the woman who was still on stage and nodded once. The music died down and the dancer grabbed her robe from a chair at the back of the stage, walking off to a room in the back of the club. Lena relaxed as she slid into the booth. 

"Right. So, I know what you want to drink already, but how about you?" Maggie asked.

"Mhm, a mojito would be nice." Lena said. The shorter woman nodded before squeezing Alex's shoulder. 

"Alright. Behave yourself while I'm gone, got it?" She said, slapping Alex lightly and headed over towards the bar.

Laughing to herself, Alex leaned back in her seat before staring intensely at Lena. The editor shifted in her seat, wishing that Maggie hadn't left. The cop was a much less intimidating force than Kara's sister, who had made it incredibly clear that she was skeptical of the entire arrangement. Which, she had every reason to be skeptical. But, Lena didn't need that kind of stress in her life. She had to make Alex at least tolerate her.

“What are you staring at?” She eventually asked, breaking the intense silence.

“Just the woman who made my sister’s life living hell for the last three years.” Alex replied without missing a beat. Leaning forward, she shook her head. “I’m just having a hard time reconciling that with the fact that you’re going to be marrying her.”

Lena shrugged, doing her best to seem unaffected by Alex’s line of questioning. In reality, her heart was pounding in her ears. Alex Danvers— _Agent_  Danvers, was a member of the FBI. A member of a government agency who would have every authority to deport her in an instant. And would be forced to throw her sister into prison.

“Things happen. People change.” She said, her voice cool and level, as though she’d said those words a thousand times before.

“ _People_ do. I still have a hard time believing you’re actually a person.” Alex replied and let out a humorless laugh. She bridged her hands together, fingers interlaced. “If you hurt her, if I find out that you’re just playing with Kara’s affections…”

“Stand down, Danvers.” Maggie said as she returned to their booth with drinks in hand. She slid Lena’s glass across the table to her before slipping into the seat next to Alex. Lena nodded before lifting the glass to her lips, taking a small sip. “But for real? You do anything to hurt Kara and you’ll have a cop and a federal agent gunning for you. For your sake, don’t do it.”

“Trust me, I won’t.” Lena said.

“Trust you? Sorry, that’s a little hard to do. Particularly when we ran into an INS agent snooping around this morning.” Alex said, taking a deep pull from her own glass, eyes trained on Lena. If it wasn’t for her own nerves of steel, Lena would have broke. She would have ruined everything that she’d worked for in a single instant.

But, once a Luthor, always a Luthor. She was made of stronger stuff than Alex could ever imagine. Continuing to sip on her drink, she raised a single eyebrow. “Really?”

“Mhm. Someone called Siobhan tipped him off that something might be going on here.” Alex said before gesturing to Maggie. “Maggie shooed him off the property, but that sort of thing doesn’t really inspire much confidence in you.”

“Siobhan is a disgruntled former employee who would like nothing more than to see me get deported from this country. And if she can do so at the expense of our happiness, she would do it in a heartbeat.” Lena said smoothly, placing the glass back down on the table. Though she felt as though she was about to combust from the pressure of the situation, her posture remained unchanged. She would not be caught, not like this, not now.

The two women regarded her for a moment before Maggie tossed back the last of her drink. The shorter woman stood up and nodded, “Let’s get you to that dress fitting.”

Startled, Lena blinked as the two women began to slide out of the booth. “That’s it?”

Maggie nodded as she slipped her leather jacket back on. “Yep. I believe you and, well… Danvers here can come up with more than a few things worse than deportation if it turns out that you’re playing Kara.” With a cheery grin, she gestured to the door. “Ready to go?”

Had it not been for the pulsing, flashing lights, the other two would have seen the color drain from Lena’s face. Offering a tight lipped smile, Lena nodded before tossing back the last of her own drink. God, this was a mistake. Why hadn’t she bullied that silly tech guy into this instead? She just had to pick the assistant with an elite strategic task force for a family.

***

Kara pushed a final pin into the banner her father had pulled out, reading “Congratulations!” in red and blue letters, her favorite colors. She had no idea when her family had even made this, but it was such a sweet gesture. A pang of guilty wracked her, a feeling that she was growing more and more familiar with. She’d thought that this would be a simple long weekend, just a family get together. Not… what it had turned into.

“I think that looks pretty good, kiddo.” Jeremiah said as she climbed down the ladder. From the kitchen, Eliza poked her head out and nodded.

“Nice work in there, you two. Kar, do you think you can come and help me with these peas? I just need a quick hand.” She said, her voice light and airy. A bit too light. Kara bit her lip but nodded all the same. The last thing she wanted was to be interrogated by her mother again, but she didn’t want to raise Eliza’s suspicions about everything that was going on.

“The peas are in the fridge—if you could wash and snap them, that’d be wonderful.” Eliza said as she worked on getting the rest of the finger food prepared. Wordlessly, Kara grabbed the peas from the refrigerator and began to wash them.

“How’s work been for you two?” Eliza asked, her tone casual. But, Kara knew better. Shrugging, she tilted her head.

“It’s been good. Busy, you know.” She replied.

“I do, I do.” Eliza nodded as she sliced carrots into neat sticks, perfect for dipping into ranch. “Did I tell you that they’ve been looking for additional hires in our Tokyo medical division? I know how much you enjoyed that trip to Japan we went to.”

“Mhm? That’s nice.” Kara said, focusing on snapping the ends of the peas off instead of the conversation. But, she knew exactly what was coming. It was the same conversation they had every time she came back to Midvale, the same conversation her mother hounded after her.

“We could really use your help. You know there’s no one else that I’d rather have working out there.” Eliza said earnestly.

With a sigh, Kara shook her head, “Mom, please. I’m in National City, Lena’s in National City. We both have jobs. Why don’t you ask the Matthews? I heard that Mike is looking for a new job and he’s got experience. I’m sure he’d love to have you as a reference.”

“I know, I know,” Eliza said, pausing for a moment before continuing. “It’s just… you’re a secretary.”

Kara stared at Eliza, the peas she’d been snapping mashed into a pulp in her hands. “I’m not a secretary! I’m an assistant, we’ve talked about this.”

“You ran her coffee for months, Kara.” Eliza said, a slight scowl on her face. She shook her head, “I just want you to be successful. I know that you think that this whole thing is going to help you—”

“ _This whole thing?_  What do you mean by “this whole thing”?” Kara asked, gaping. She’d always butted heads with her mother over her desire to be a writer, but it had never been like this. God, this was how Alex must feel all the time. After Alex had joined the FBI, Eliza’s comments had faded because, “at least her daughter was working for the federal government instead of being some kind of security guard.”

“I don’t know!” Her mother said, raising her hands innocently. “All I know is that one day you’re calling Lena a Dragon Lady and the next thing we know, you’re engaged to her? Honey, how do you think this looks?”

Kara blinked, startled into silence. Was this really what her mother thought? Choosing her words carefully, Kara chewed her bottom lip before replying, “Things change. People change. That’s really all I can say about it, Eliza.” She said before setting down the bowl of snapped peas. “Need anything else from me?”

Before her mother could respond, Kara hurried out of the kitchen, tears threatening to overwhelm her. The sooner this entire thing was over with, the better. Then she could go back to National City and forget all about this. In the meantime, she needed to blow off some steam. As she made her way to her father’s gym room, Kara realized her fingers were running over the Claddagh ring that rested on her left hand, playing with it unconsciously.

Letting out a watery laugh, she shook her head. Forget all about this? How could she?

***

Lena swallowed as she stared at her reflection. It was the third dress of the day and she’d been standing ramrod straight for the better part of two hours, but this… this was the one. Even Alex, who had spent most of the fitting glaring daggers at her, had let out a soft gasp when Lena had emerged from the dressing room. Twisting around, the floor length mirrors displayed every inch of the flowing white fabric that fanned out around her.

“Wow.” Maggie let out a low whistle. “Who knew Midvale dress shops could bring it like this?”

Alex rolled her eyes before standing up, grabbing her wallet from the inside pocket of her jacket. “Dad gave me their card, so I’ll get this paid for while Lena finishes her fitting.”

Lena shook her head at Alex’s words. “You don’t need to do that.”

The redhead raised an eyebrow and nodded once. “I know. But, it’s what my dad wants and I’m not going to argue with him. I’m sure he’s getting enough of that at home.” Stuffing her hands into the pockets of her jacket with a sour look, she headed out of fitting room area.

Maggie let out a sigh. “I’m sorry about her. This is just a really stressful time for the Danvers clan, but I don’t need to tell you that. I’m sure you’ve heard it all from Kara.” She said with a wry smile. “I know I’d heard enough from Alex.”

Lena nodded, unsure of how she should react to Maggie’s words. She only knew vague snippets about Kara before this all happened and now that they were supposed to be engaged, she was being thrown new information left and right. That said, it did not take a rocket scientist to know exactly how Eliza felt about their entire situation.

“Eliza’s just always had a really specific vision, you know? Which doesn’t validate what she’s done at all.” Maggie added. “It’s just not easy on either one of them being back here. Kara’s always been the golden girl, even after she took the job at Royce. But, her mom’s always wanted more for her. Whatever that means.” Maggie shrugged before jerking her thumb towards the entry way.

“I’m going to make sure my Danvers doesn’t wind up threatening the saleswoman up front. You should give your girl a call.” Maggie said, tossing a cell phone Lena’s way. The woman caught it, fumbling with the phone for a moment as a confused expression crossed her face. Maggie pointed at the phone as she left, “I saw what happened this morning. I’d say the laugh was definitely worth my back-up.”

And again, Lena found herself alone. With her thoughts. In one of the most gorgeous wedding dresses she had ever seen. Glancing up at the mirror, she stared at herself once more. Here she was, in a gown fit for a princess. Lena closed her eyes, massaging her temples delicately. She just had to get through today and tomorrow. Two days and she could forget all about this.

In the back of her mind, a soft voice couldn’t help but play on her doubts. How could she possibly forget about all of this? This dress, Jeremiah’s kindness, everything that had been arranged for the two of them? Reaching for the glass of champagne that sat on the table by her, Lena tossed back the bubbly drink, shaking her head. The sooner this was over with, the better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, comments and messages are much appreciated!


	11. Chapter 11

“Looks like we’re right on schedule.” Alex said as she pulled up to the dock, Maggie jumping over the side to tie down the boat. Lena stood up, her hands clasping the bag that held the dress tightly in both hands. The older Danvers raised an eyebrow at her unsteady stance before holding out her hands.

“You should probably give that to me. Don’t want it to fall in the ocean or something.” She said. Lena swallowed her pride and handed it over; it was humiliating, but with the amount of money the Danvers had just spent on her wedding dress, she wasn’t taking any chances. Grasping the side of the boat, Lena stumbled as she stepped off, though it was still better than flying in that damned plane. Alex, on the other hand, practically vaulted over the edge of the boat and landed on the rickety dock with ease with the dress bag practically floating in the air behind her. Seriously, was there anything these people couldn't do?

“We’d better help with the last minute party prep. Lena, you might wanna freshen up. You’ve, uh, kinda got some glitter. All over here.” Maggie snickered and gestured to Lena’s face before following her girlfriend up to the fort. Biting back the urge to shoot back a scathing retort, Lena merely nodded and hurried up the paved pathway to the mansion of a house. As she slipped inside, Lena’s jaw dropped. When had they had the time to get an ice-sculpture ordered, much less made specifically for the occasion? Did it really say “Kara + Lena”? Christ, it did.

“God, they’re like the Kennedys but somehow more successful.” She muttered under her breath as she headed up to Kara’s room. It was helpful that Kara had an adjacent bathroom; it was just a breath of fresh air to get away from the superfamily for even a few minutes. She rummaged through her bag for a fresh change of clothes and entered the bathroom, shutting the door behind her. Stripping down, Lena started the shower and stepped into the warm spray, glad to get the glitter off her skin.

***

Sweat dripped down her brow as she pummeled the heavy bag that swung in front of her, layers of duct tape keeping the stuffing inside. Kara’s gloved hands fell against the bag over and over as she bounced in time to the music playing through her headphones. Nothing like some throwback NSYNC to get her out of her head for a bit. And, combined with the punching bag? It helped a lot. Imagining the expression on Eliza’s face as she ‘casually’ pushed for Kara to go to Japan, Kara slammed her fists against the bag with renewed vigor. It wasn’t anger directed at Eliza so much as what she was trying to do. Her mother knew for years how much being an editor meant to her, how serious she was about it all. She wasn’t going to let herself be bullied into something she didn’t care about again.

Lena’s face flashed in her mind at the thought and Kara recoiled. No, this was different. This entire situation, it was a means to an end. Once it was over, she would be editor, Lena would finally be off her back, and it would… it would all work out. She wasn’t being forced into something. No, she wanted this. It was a step in the right direction to get her in the industry and she  _wanted_  it. With a sudden spin, she pivoted on her foot and smashed the heel of her foot against the leather material of the bag, sending the bag rocking backwards in its stand.

Raising her hands to catch it, the alarm on her phone went off, letting her know that it was about time for her to start getting ready. It was her engagement party after all, she had to at least look somewhat put-together for it. She slipped off the boxing gloves and hurried out of the home gym, sweat still dripping down her skin. Ick. She definitely needed a shower. Booking it up the stairs, she pulled her shirt off and tossed it into the hamper of her room. Dancing to the music that played through her headphones, she shimmied out of her workout gear and slung a towel over her shoulders.

Kara turned towards the bathroom, but the door flung itself open on its own accord, startling her backwards. A shriek rang out through the room as Kara's eyes met Lena's, her boss recoiling in turn. The sudden jolt sent the brunette's arms flailing as her damp feet slipped on the tile of the bathroom, sliding dangerously.

On instinct, Lena reached out to grab Kara for support, gripping her by the shoulders. Kara grabbed her boss' arms to steady her, pulling her in so she wouldn't fall over or smack her head against the side of the sink. For a moment, they stood there, both more than a little dazed by the sudden flurry of activity.

A hot wave of warmth spread across Kara's cheeks as she suddenly became very aware of the fact that she was... that they were both--

In an instant, the two let go of each other and screamed in shock. Kara pulled the towel from her neck and hastily covered herself while Lena scrambled to hide herself behind Kara’s desk chair.

“Why are you wet?!” Kara exclaimed.

“Why are you not wearing clothes?!” Lena shouted back. Kara glanced over at Lena, but ducked quickly when her mesh pencil case was thrown at her head. “Don’t look at me!”

“You’re the one who ran into me!” Kara protested, but kept her gaze averted.

“There weren’t any towels in your bathroom! Who does that? At least keep some outside the door on a desk or something.” Lena growled, still cowering behind the chair. “Give me your towel!”

“What? Oh, forget it.” Kara grumbled and turned to her bed, tossing the duvet at Lena. The thick material landed on her head, covering the editor from head to toe while Kara wrapped the towel securely around herself, cheeks still bright red. God, this was beyond embarrassing. Lena struggled her way out of the duvet, emerging from the folds like a weird poufy burrito.

“Explain yourself!” Lena demanded, leaning against Kara’s desk, hair still dripping as she shivered in the duvet.

Kara shrugged, “I didn’t know you were home! I was in the gym earlier and needed to shower before the party.”

“You didn’t hear me?” Lena asked, incredulity apparent in her tone. Kara held up her phone.

“I was listening to my music. The better question is did you jump me?” She asked.

“I didn’t mean to jump you, I didn’t know you were here.” Lena scoffed, though it was hard for Kara to take her seriously while she was wrapped up in a blanket burrito.

Kara raised an eyebrow, holding up a hand, “Wait a second, were you trying to seduce me?” She teased. She couldn't help herself; there were only so many moments where she actually had the upper hand on her boss.

Now it was Lena’s turn to go bright red. “Don’t flatter yourself.”

“Mhm.”

Lena rolled her eyes and jerked her thumb to the now empty bathroom. “Go take a shower, I can smell you from here.”

“Okay, but real quick,” Kara said as she headed into the bathroom, pausing at the door. “Do I need to call Pam from HR?” Lena let out a groan and shut the door in Kara’s face. The blonde frowned at the wooden door that was suddenly in front of her. “I’m actually being serious about this!”

A quick shower and blowdry later, Kara popped her head out of the bathroom tentatively, scanning her room just in case her boss decided to make another appearance. Luckily, she was alone. Walking over to her closet, she picked out an acceptable outfit for the occasion and hurried to get dressed. After tucking her shirt into her pants, Kara gave herself a once over in the mirror before heading downstairs. She could hear a few people chattering already, which meant she was running a bit on the late side. Oh well, her mother could handle it.

The moment she descended the staircase, she was startled to see the sheer number of people who were gathered-- had her parents invited all of Midvale? There were so many more people than just the usual crowd who came out to celebrate her mother's birthday. Oh god, they'd gone all out, hadn't they? Blinking, her eye was caught by the light shining off the elaborate ice carving that had been placed in the foyer. What? Oh no... 

“Kara!” A tall man with close cropped hair called out to her, walking over to hug her, Lena trailing behind him. A brilliant smile lit across her face as she embraced him tightly. Jonn was one of her favorite people; he had constantly supported both her and Alex's pursuits over the years and it was something that they both appreciated.

“Uncle Jonn! I’m so glad that you could be here.” She said, beaming. He nodded as he pulled away, a beer in one hand.

“Ah, what’s the point of owning an airline if I can’t come out to see my two favorite girls? I was talking to your fiancé here, she’s pretty sharp.” He said, gesturing to Lena who stood next to him, her face an expression of thinly veiled anxiety. Kara couldn’t help but feel a bit bad for her boss—it wasn’t easy mingling with the various Danvers’ acquaintances. “Where’ve you been hiding this one?”

“Um, work mainly.” Kara said, not really knowing how else to get out of the situation. Lena raised an eyebrow behind Jonn’s back, making her wonder what exactly had been said in the twenty minutes she’d spent getting ready.

“Yes, Lena mentioned that to me. I’m glad that you’ve found someone who shares your interests. She was telling me that she was very impressed by your writing, that it was how you two began to get to know each other better?” He asked, glancing back at Lena with a smile. This time it was Kara’s turn to cast a skeptical look Lena’s way, which the editor did not acknowledge.

“Mhm, she mentioned it while we were attending a book fair. It piqued my interest and from there… things just began to happen.” Lena said, a coy smile spreading across her face. Kara knew better—that was the same expression she used during business dealings, when she was luring the competition in only to throw her own terms and conditions back in their face. But, the part that startled Kara was the truth in her words. She really had talked about her book to Lena while they had worked the book fair two years ago. It had come up after they had attending a seminar on the increased market for science fantasy novels, which was, coincidentally, the genre that Kara’s book fell into. Of course, at the time, it had seemed as though Lena was merely scrolling through her emails while Kara rambled about her book. But… had she really been listening.

“That’s wonderful. Well, I need to find Alex and tell her I’m very disappointed in her.” Jonn said, lowering his voice, “Your dad and I had a bet on who would get married first, you or Alex. I thought she was a shoe-in with Maggie, but it seems your sister can’t work up the nerve to pop the question.” He said with a shake of his head before heading off to find Alex.

“So… my book?” Kara asked as Lena stepped next to her, arms folded across her chest.

“Please. Every good lie has a grain of truth. I listened to you prattle on about your book and it seemed like a good enough alibi.” Lena said through a smile at some of the guests who smiled at the two of them. “Get me a drink? An old-fashioned.”

“Please and thank you?” Kara asked, but scurried off to the bar when Lena cast her a scathing look. Letting out a sigh, she leaned against the bar and gestured to the bartender that her parents had hired. “Hi, Jake.” She said with a smile at the familiar face behind the bar. She had never really been involved in the popular crowd during high school, but Jake had grown nicer over the years. He and Vicky had gotten married shortly after they graduated and were still going strong. It was nice to see him, even though they’d never been close.

“Kara! Congratulations on the engagement. What can I get ya?” He asked.

“One old-fashioned and a strawberry daiquiri, please. Thanks, Jake.” She said, slipping a five into the tip jar that was sitting next to her. Tapping her hands on the bar, Kara waited patiently as he set about making the drinks. She didn’t usually like drinking, but hopefully the liquid courage would smooth things over for the rest of the afternoon. She just needed to stay around Lena to make sure they could keep their stories straight and avoid talking about anything super personal. Easy. Totally easy. They were only surrounded by her family’s closest friends and about half of the people in Midvale…

“Hey, Jake, can I get a mojito?” Kara’s ears twitched at the sound of a familiar voice next to her. Nope, no, she couldn’t look over. She wasn’t going to do that to herself. She wasn’t going to put herself through that. Bridging her hands on the bar top, she focused on her fingers as Jake spoke up.

“Coming right up. Here’s your old fashioned and strawberry daiquiri, Kara. Good seeing you.” He said with a smile before starting on the mojito. Kara offered a tense smile as she took the glasses from the bar. There was no escaping, oh no…

“Kara?” She glanced up and saw Sam standing at the bar, still as beautiful as she remembered. Swallowing, the blonde offered a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes.

“Hey, Sam!” She said, mentally kicking herself—she sounded way too excited. “What are you doing here?” She asked, doing her best to keep her tone even and politely interested. But, seeing Sam here again, it awakened a whole host of feelings that had gone ignored for so long. Old memories from the past resurfaced and she’d be lying if she said it didn't hurt a bit to see Sam, standing here.

“Your mom invited me.” Sam replied with a smile.

Kara nodded, confusion causing her eyebrows to knit together. “All the way from out in Star City? That’s quite a flight.”

“No, no. I live here now.” She replied quietly, glancing back at Jake who was crushing mint in the bottom of his mixer.

“You what?” Kara asked. What had she just heard? Sam was back in Midvale?

“I moved back about a year ago. I’m teaching second grade at Baranof.” Sam nodded.

“Did your husband move with you?” She asked, still mentally trying to connect the dots of how Sam got to be here. Her mom invited Sam here? Of course Eliza would do that… Invite the one person who Kara still couldn’t get out of her head. Kara took a sip from her straw, wishing she’d ordered something a bit less childish.

Sam took her drink from Jake with a smile and took a polite drink before respond to Kara’s question. “Um, no. I, ah, got divorced. He said that Ruby wasn’t an issue… but that wasn’t the case.”

Kara coughed on a piece of crushed ice that shot through the straw, choking slightly. Swallowing, she shook her head. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t know.”

“It’s alright. Ruby and I have each other, so it really isn’t too different from before. But, c’mon, I’d like to meet your fiancé.” Sam said. Kara nodded, realizing that she still had Lena’s drink in hand.

“Yes, yes, of course. I need to get her this anyways, I’m sure she’d be happy to meet you.” Kara said before weaving her way through the crowd, offering a kind smile to everyone who congratulated her as they passed, “How’s Ruby, by the way?”

“She’s good.” Sam said politely. Kara nodded; of course Sam wouldn’t want to talk about her daughter with her. Why would she? It wasn’t as though Kara was involved in her life anymore. Nope, they were unattached, untangled. She wasn’t… important to Ruby. “One of my friends is watching her—I didn’t think it would be appropriate to bring her.”

“Gotcha.” Kara said as she located Lena by the patio door, talking to—Kara bit back the urge to scream as she realized Lena was talking to her mother of all people. No, no, no, no, no, “Hey, look who it is? My two favorite people.” She said holding out Lena’s drink. Her boss took the glass without thanking her, which sent alarm bells ringing in Kara’s mind. They needed to sell that they were together and Sam would be the first to know that something was wrong. Sliding her arm around Lena’s waist, she pressed a kiss to her boss’ cheek, close enough so she could whisper, “Just go with it.”

Lena stiffened in her arm, but didn’t pull away, which was already much better than Kara had expected. Eliza smiled at Sam, pulling the other woman into a hug.

“Honey,” Lena said, voice dripping with saccharine sweetness, “Who’s this?”

Before Kara could reply, Sam held out a hand, “Samantha Arias. But please, call me Sam.” 

“Lena Luthor.” Lena reached out and shook Sam’s hand once in a firm grip. Kara couldn’t help but notice that Sam had introduced herself by her maiden name—she really had divorced. Pushing back the twinge of regret, Kara nodded in agreement.

“Sam’s an old friend of mine from high school.” Kara supplied to fill the slightly awkward silence. Eliza let out a laugh from over the rim of her wine glass.

“Friend? I’d hardly call her that. Kara and Sam were quite the item back in the day.” Eliza said. Sam let out a nervous laugh, shaking her head while Kara frantically tried to think of some way to salvage the situation. But, Kara could already feel the frosty aura that normally followed Lena returning.

“Oh no, that’s ancient history.” Sam replied, taking a sip from her drink.

“Feels like yesterday to me. I remember Kara doodling your name all over her notebooks—”

“Okay, thanks, Mom!” Kara cut her off, cheeks bright red. Between Sam’s embarrassed expression on her left and Lena’s thinly veiled irritation on her right, Kara wished that the floor would swallow her up so that she could escape the situation entirely.

“So… Tell me everything.” Sam said with a bright smile. “I heard that it wasn’t exactly love at first sight?”

“Not quite.” Lena replied with a polite laugh as Jeremiah wandered up to stand with his wife, slipping his arm around Eliza’s waist, mirroring Kara’s own pose.

“You know what we still haven’t heard? How you proposed.” He said. Kara swallowed as the crowd of people near them quieted, all waiting for the couple to share the story of how they became engaged.

“No, no, you don’t want to hear that.” Kara protested weakly, but by now Alex and Maggie had already gravitated towards the crowd that had formed around her and Lena.

“Of course we do, Little Danvers. C’mon, tell us how it all went down. Who popped the question?” Maggie asked, a grin on her face as she put Kara on the spot.

“Darling, why don’t I tell it.” A bit startled by Lena’s interjection, Kara nodded helplessly, letting the other woman slip from her arm.

“It was almost our year anniversary and things had been going well. Of course, I'd known that she was thinking about asking me for quite some time, but she hadn't quite worked up the nerve just yet. You know. So, I decided to leave some subtle hints to get her on the right track, but--"

Not liking how Lena was painting her, Kara jumped in, "But, she's about as subtle as a freight train. So I picked up on it pretty quickly."

"Mhm, just the kick in the pants she needed to get going. Of course, she’s waited so long that I’ve decided I’d be better off doing it myself. So, I come home one night and I see Kara, just standing there in the middle of the room, the most--"

"Romantic setting you've seen. There were candles and I'd bought her favorite flowers, gardenias, and filled the room with them." Kara cut Lena off.

"Mhm, which sent me into a fit of allergies. Too much of a good thing and all that. So, I'm sneezing, my eyes are running, and Kara decides that it's the perfect moment to pop the question. She gets down on one knee, surrounded by all these flowers,"

"And I told her, Lena Kieran Luthor, the last year of my life has been truly,” Kara paused, trying to figure out the least implausible white lie, “Something else. You would make me the happiest woman in the world if you married me.”

She said, raising her hands with a shrug while Kara wished, again, that something,  _anything_  would happen to draw the attention away from them.

Silence followed the story, though Jeremiah laughed awkwardly to cover it. “That’s… quite the start to an engagement. But, I’m sure the marriage itself will be quite smooth.”

Maggie piped up from the background, gesturing with her beer to Lena’s hand, “Kar, what happened to your bride-to-be’s ring?” Kara glanced down at Lena’s ringless finger, the blood draining from her face. She hadn’t thought about that one. But, one look at her bewildered expression had Lena swooping in, as calm as could be.

“We had to get the ring re-sized— I hadn’t expected to be getting married this weekend, but we’ll make do without it. Isn’t that right, darling?” Lena lied, pressing a kiss of her own on Kara’s cheek. The feeling of Lena’s lips against her skin jolted Kara out of her startled daze and she nodded in agreement.

“Mhm, Lena has much slimmer fingers than you’d think.” Kara babbled, not noticing Alex nearly choking on her beer in the background, her cheeks bright red. “Dainty almost. I’d gotten something that was a bit too big for her—” She was cut off when she felt a sharp pain in her ribs, Lena’s elbow prodding her. The brunette tilted her head over towards Maggie and Alex, the former looking as though she would die from holding back her laughter while the latter looked like she wanted to strangle Lena.

“Buuuut! That’s not important, okay, um, hope everyone’s enjoying the party!” Kara said loudly, dispersing the crowd. Her parents wandered away to talk to some of their other friends while Sam made her way to Alex and Maggie, allowing Kara to flee to a quiet spot out on the back patio. Away from the party noise, Kara leaned against the railing of the deck and rested her head on her hands. God, this was such a train wreck. This was a mistake, it was such a big mistake to think that they could pull this off. And the wedding was tomorrow? Nope, no, this was all going to pieces.

A soothing hand rubbed between her shoulders and she cracked an eye open to see who was with her. Kara was startled to see Lena next to her, staring out at the ocean as she rubbed Kara’s back.

Before she could ask what was going on, Lena spoke up, “Your entire house is made up of windows, there’s no such thing as privacy here, is there? Besides, it wouldn’t look very good if I let my fiancé leave like a flustered mess.”

Nodding, Kara rested her head against her hands again. Taking a few deep breaths to calm herself, she couldn’t help but relax into Lena’s touch. There was just something very comforting about the gesture, even if it was only for show. They stood like that for a while, in silence, Kara focusing on her breathing while Lena rubbed her back.

“Alright, let’s get back in there.” Kara said with a smile, fixing her glasses as she straightened. Lena looked skeptically at her.

“Are you sure about that?” She asked, “You still look a bit of a mess. Here.” Lena brushed some stray strands of hair from Kara’s face, tucking them behind her ear. As she did so, Kara became very aware of how close her boss was standing to her, how her fingers felt as they brushed against her cheek. Turning her head, she cleared her throat and clapped her hands together awkwardly.

“Yup, I’m good. Let’s just go back in there and… give it another shot. Just don’t let my parents corner us like that ever again.”

“Oh, God no.” Lena said, shaking her head vigorously. “The second you left to get drinks, your mother came out of the woodwork began quizzing me on my knowledge of particle physics.”

“Yikes, sorry about that.” Kara winced.

“Surprisingly, it wasn’t terrible. I had a decent grasp of most of it, but it’s been ages since I’ve done anything with that information. Use it and lose it, you know.” She replied with a wry smile before making her way back inside the house, leaving Kara blinking in surprise. Lena knew about particle physics? While she knew that Lena’s personal genre of choice was contemporary science-fiction, she’d never really asked why Lena had that particular interest. The back of Kara’s neck went red as she realized—she really didn’t know her boss as well as she might have thought. She wasn’t about to crack open the dossier that Lena had given her but… maybe they really did need to talk more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This update took a bit longer to write because, well, it's also a bit of a longer chapter! I hope you guys enjoyed this and a big shout out to  Toria_is_alright for her suggestion about adding Sam in!


	12. Chapter 12

Lena excused herself from her conversation with Kara’s aunt with a smile, waving goodbye to the woman as she headed out to the docks. The engagement party was winding down and most people had departed to their hotels off the island; at least, those who would be attending the wedding the next day. Wandering into the study of the massive house, Lena couldn’t help but think about the strangeness of it all. Kara, like herself, had grown up in the lap of luxury. They’d both spent their childhood in mansions, with parents who were dedicated to their jobs, with driven siblings, pressured by their mother to succeed—but, where her own family had failed, Kara’s had not. Alex was successful in her own right, both Jeremiah and Eliza were alive and well, and Kara was… her assistant. Someone who she had not given the time of day to for over three years. Someone who she’d viewed as little more than a nuisance. God. What a mistake she had made. Rubbing her temples, she sighed. This entire thing was becoming a tangled mess and she wasn’t sure how she was supposed to get out of it.

“Hey, you look like you need this more than me.” Glancing over her shoulder, Lena saw Sam holding out a glass of wine to her. Shaking her head, Lena smiled politely.

“No, no thank you. I don’t really want to drink too much tonight.” She replied.

“Right, right. The big day is tomorrow.” Sam said, taking a sip from the glass instead. The two stood there for a moment, staring at the shelves of books that lined the ornate room in silence.

“So… You and Kara used to date?” Lena asked, regretting the words the second they left her mouth. Why had she asked? It wasn’t her business. But, Sam nodded all the same.

“Mhm. She was a year younger than me, but she was there for me when a lot of people weren’t.” The other woman replied, “My sophomore year, I was with this guy and… one thing led to another and I found out that I was pregnant. I made the decision to keep my baby and I lost almost everything. My mother threw me out, he left me, my friends didn’t want to be around me, but Kara? She stayed. When my mother kicked me out, Kara swooped in and brought me here and the Danvers let me stay with them. Being around her and the positivity she has…” Sam smiled and shook her head. “I’m sure you know what that’s like.

“It was comfortable, you know? She always puts others before herself and, well, things just fell into place. We dated for a bit and she was there with me when my daughter was born. But, when she graduated—”

“You decided to break things off?” Lena asked, confused as to why Sam was telling her all this. The other woman frowned, tilting her head.

“No… Well, yes, but no. Kara asked me to marry her. Part of the reason I left Midvale was because of that.” Sam said, shaking her head. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize that she hadn’t told you about this.”

Lena blinked, still stunned by the revelation as Sam continued to speak, regret clear on her face. “I shouldn’t have mentioned this. I just… I wanted to say that I’m really happy for you two. And I’m so happy that Kara found someone who can handle just how _much_ she loves.” Sam said and glanced towards the door of the study. “I know why Eliza wanted me to be here and I just wanted you to know that what Kara and I had… it’s in the past. I’ve seen how she looks at you; she cares about you so much. Just take care of her heart, okay?”

“I—Of course.” Lena said, flustered by the genuine compassion that seemed to radiate off the other woman. If this was the kind of person that Kara usually dated, no wonder her family was so opposed to her being engaged to Lena. Sam smiled and nodded.

“For the record, I think you two look great together. And I’ve never seen Jeremiah this happy about anything. Eliza will warm up to you, I know she will.” Sam said glancing down at her watch, “Anyways, my sitter will be wondering where I am. But, it was wonderful to meet you. Congratulations to the both of you.” Sam said before heading out of the study, leaving Lena to mull over her increasingly troubled thoughts.

Settling down on the arm of an ornate leather chair, she shut her eyes, trying to process everything that had happened that day. She’d had her phone stolen by a deranged hawk, casually threatened by two members of law enforcement in a strip club, paraded in front of a bunch of Midvale blue-bloods, and introduced to possibly one of the sweetest people she’d ever met, who Kara clearly deserved to be with. And here she was, ruining everything with her own schemes.

Folding her arms across her chest, Lena’s fingertips brushed over the fabric of her dress just over the tattoo on her ribs. Everything that had once been good in her life, it had already been ruined, ripped away from her. And Kara, she had it all. A sister who loved her, parents who cared about her, who wanted nothing but the best for her. Her heart ached at the thought of how similar and yet so vastly different they were. Was this empty feeling she felt longing? Longing for something that was once hers but could never be?

A tear rolled down the side of her cheek, startling her out of her thoughts. Lena wiped the tear away, glad that she had worn her waterproof mascara. She had to push away these thoughts. There was no point thinking about something that didn’t matter anymore.

Clearing her throat, Lena headed back out to the main room where Jonn, Eliza, and Jeremiah cleaning up, the rest of their guests gone. Jeremiah smiled as Lena entered the room.

“Kara’s upstairs in her room. It’s been a long day for the both of you, so why don’t you get some rest?” He said, but before Lena could agree, Jonn spoke up.

“Before you do, I’d like to talk to you for a moment, Lena.” The man said, gesturing towards the patio door. Lena’s stomach churned at the prospect of talking to Jonn—after the quick briefing Kara had given her that morning, she went to great lengths to avoid talking to him one-on-one all day. She’d even suffered through a long conversation about tribal marriage rituals with one of the old women who lived in town. She had advised Lena to go out to the woods and do some kind of fire dance, chanting thing, which was something she had no intent of  _ever_  doing, in this life or the next.

“I’m not very good at this sort of thing but, because it’s for Kara, I’ll make an exception.” He said as the two of them stood outside, the cool ocean breeze giving the night air a crisp bite to it. Lena shivered. Her dress wasn’t exactly meant for weather of any sort. “When Jeremiah invited me to the wedding, it wasn’t just as a guest. He wanted to know if I would have the honor of officiating the ceremony for his daughter. I agreed, but with the stipulation that I would be allowed to talk it over with both Kara and yourself. I know how important it is to be married and this entire situation has been incredibly different from what the two of you were planning, I’m sure. But, I wanted to make sure that you were alright with me officiating.”

Lena paused, mulling over his words before replying, “I’m sure that Kara would love for you to officiate the wedding, so by all means.” It was a close family friend of Kara’s, who was she to say no to something like this? She was already taking away a moment that meant so much to Kara, she wouldn’t make things worse.

He stared at her for a moment, nodding slowly, “You know, it’s interesting. Kara told me that she would love the gesture, but she wasn’t sure how you’d feel about it. I’m glad to hear this.” Jonn paused before continuing, “Now, I know that you’ve probably been threatened up to your ears by Eliza, Maggie, and Alex. And, I’m not about to add on to that pile of threats, you don’t need that kind of stress. I just wanted to welcome you to the family.” He sighed heavily, looking out at the moonlight that reflected on the ocean waves. “Jeremiah and Eliza have been some of my closest friends since I was a young man. And when I lost my own family, Eliza and Jeremiah extended theirs to me. Alex and Kara, they’re like my own daughters, in a way. The Danvers family is one of love and acceptance and I’m sure it hasn’t felt that way for you. But, know that each and every one of them loves you and is overjoyed to have you be a part of the family. No matter who your parents were, who your brother is, we’re glad to have you.” Jonn rested a hand on her shoulder, squeezing gently. “There’s this motto that we all have. ‘Stronger together.’ Because that’s the truth. Family, and the love that comes with family, it makes us more than we ever could be on our own. Welcome to the Danvers family, Lena.”

With a reassuring pat, Jonn headed out to the beach, leaving Lena barely able to see through tear-filled eyes. Blinking, she did her best to hold back the tears as she hurried back inside, making her way straight for the stairs, to Kara’s bedroom.

Shutting the door behind her, Lena let out a shuddering sob, the floodgates giving way to the tears she’d been holding back. Back pressed against the door, she slid into a sniffling heap on the floor.

“Lena? Oh, God.” Kara rushed over from where she had been perched on the bed, immediately putting an arm around Lena’s shoulders. The warmth was immediate and comforting and Lena couldn’t help but rest her head against Kara’s shoulder. Was this what it was like? Was this what it was like to have people who loved you, who cared about you? To have a family that only wanted the best? “Lena, what happened, what’s wrong? Did Alex say something? I’m so sorry about her, I’ll tell her to knock it off—”

Sucking in a deep breath, Lena glanced up at Kara through puffy eyes, “I forgot.” She said thickly.

The blonde’s eyebrows knitted together in confusion, “Sorry?”

Swallowing, Lena continued. “I forgot what it was like to have a family. Ever since Lex… did what he did, I’ve been on my own. Even before then, it was only ever the two of us. We were there for each other, but my father was never around, my mother never cared. I forgot what it was like to have breakfast in bed, to have a sibling who you could joke around with. And, I never—I never got to have some of the things you do. A family that just loves.” Lena sniffed, shaking her head. “You have all of that, you have Sam, and I’m here, ruining all of it.”

“Hey, you’re not ruining anything. I’m the one who wanted us here, I agreed to this.”

“But you’re throwing it away!” Lena protested. “If they find out—”

“I’m not throwing anything away, they won’t know!” Kara insisted.

“You don’t know that! You don’t know any of that. You should just… be with Sam and I’ll figure something out or go back to Ireland and it will be fine. I’ll be fine. I always am.” Lena said with a half-hearted smile.

Kara sighed, running a hand through her blonde locks. “Do you want to know about Sam and I? Besides what you think you know?”

Cutting Lena off before she could protest, Kara continued, “I proposed to Sam when I was 18 years old. She had been my best friend for four years, my girlfriend for two, and I thought that I was in love. I thought that I was in love with her. But, Sam said no. Why? Because she knew why I was really proposing to her, even before I did.” Kara cleared her throat, “Do you know who Ruby is?”

Lena shook her head while Kara pulled out her phone, opening up the gallery. “Ruby is Sam’s daughter. I was in the room with Sam the day she was born, I helped take care of her, I watched her take her steps right here, in this room.” Kara thumbed through old baby pictures, showing them to Lena as she spoke. There was Ruby, the cutest little baby with thick brown hair and eyes just like her mother, held in the arms of a beaming young Kara. “When I graduated, I proposed to Sam because I wanted to give Ruby the childhood she deserved. It wasn’t because I loved Sam, though that was one of the reasons. It was mostly because I loved that little girl and just wanted the best for her.”

Kara set her phone down and nodded, “Sam knew the second I went down on one knee and she told me as much. I was ready to just go along with what my mom wanted for me, to go to med school and then work alongside my dad after I graduated if it meant I could keep Sam and Ruby safe. And she stopped me from giving up on my dreams. So, when you say that I should be with Sam, you’re wrong. Sam and I are just friends and, while I love her and Ruby like family, they’re not  _my_  family. So, please, Lena. Don’t try to convince me to go after something that I don’t want.”

Lena took a steadying breath, the tears on her face drying. If Kara really meant it, that she was alright with this entire arrangement, she felt a bit less conflicted about the whole thing. “Are you sure? I don’t want to take you away from all of this.”

“It’ll be fine,” Kara said, squeezing Lena in a small hug. “Besides, Alex has a friend who’s a crazy successful lawyer. I’m sure she’d be able to get us out of hot water if anything ever happened.”

At that, Lena let out a slightly hoarse laugh, which caused Kara to smile. “How’s your ankle holding up, by the way?” She asked.

“It hasn’t bothered me a bit. …Thank you, by the way. For everything.” Lena said awkwardly, wringing her hands in her lap as she spoke. “I don’t think I’ve actually thanked you for this.”

“Or for anything, if we’re being honest.” Kara teased but nodded all the same, “But, you’re welcome.”

“Thank you, Kara.” Lena repeated before pushing herself back onto her feet. Looking around the room, she saw that Kara had already pulled the duvet onto the ground, her pillows from the night before neatly arranged at the foot of the bed and a pang of guilt struck her. “You don’t need to sleep on the floor, you know. There’s more than enough room for us both on the bed.”

“You don’t have to do that, I’m fine on the floor.” Kara protested.

“No, I’m sure. Besides, after this morning, we can’t have your father accidentally walking in on us again.” Lena said before gesturing to the bathroom. “I just need to get ready for bed.”

“Gotcha.” Kara said, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose. “I’ll just be here… Just hanging out. Right here. In my room.” She rambled as Lena ducked into the bathroom.

Resting her palms on the cool countertop of the bathroom, Lena splashed some water on her face before she began her nightly ritual. Washing off her make-up, she took her contact lenses out and stowed them into their case. Lena pulled her glasses from her bag and changed into her pajamas before sliding her glasses onto her face. Going through the process of removing her make-up, cleansing her face, brushing her teeth—it all helped ease the tension that had bubbled in her stomach. The mindless routine was comforting and she could almost forget about her assistant, waiting just outside the door. Almost.

Lena peeked her head out of the bathroom and saw that Kara was sitting cross legged on the bed in her striped pajamas, thumbing through a book. The blonde glanced up and squinted, her own glasses on the nightstand.

“You wear glasses? How did I not know this?” Kara asked, confused. Lena shrugged as she sat down on the bed next to Kara, keenly aware of how close the other woman was to her.

“I use contacts. You were dead to the world last night when I got ready for bed.” She said while Kara grabbed her own glasses to peer at her boss. A small smile spread across her lips, one that Lena was unprepared for.

“They suit you.” Kara said quietly before clearing her throat. “So. Did you want to go over anything for tomorrow? Alex and Maggie are taking me to pick up my outfit for the wedding in the morning, so I might not be here when you wake up. I don’t want you to be totally on your own with my parents and Jonn.”

“Erm… If you don’t mind me asking, what’s going on with you and your mother?” Lena asked as Kara hugged a pillow to her chest, mulling over her words before speaking.

“…My mom’s always wanted the best for me. And Alex, Alex too. She always wanted us to be successful and happy and all these different things. She just sees what I do and what my sister does as… risky. She’s a scientist, an engineer, she likes to quantify and calculate things. And when I told her that I didn’t want to do any of that, when I told her that I wanted to be a writer, be an editor, it didn’t really align with what she thought would be best.” Kara swallowed. “Eliza means well. And she’s gotten a lot better ever since Alex stood up to her. But, she can be a bit overprotective, even when she wants what’s best for us.”

“Funnily enough, I’ve noticed that on my own.” Lena said, shaking her head.

“She’s a good mother, though. I’m very lucky to have her.” Kara swallowed before continuing, “I’m adopted, by the way. It probably matters for the interview, so you should know.”

Again, Lena was stunned. Just looking at Kara and how she fit in with the rest of the Danvers clan, she would have never guessed that Kara was adopted. She even looked a bit like Eliza, with the long blonde hair and blue eyes. “What happened to your parents? If you don’t mind me asking.” Lena added quietly.

“It’s okay, honestly. They died in a car crash when I was a child. Jeremiah was friends with my parents and was actually my godfather before the accident. I didn’t have any other family so he and Eliza adopted me.” She said, smiling. Even Lena could see that it was forced, though. “I always wanted a sister, so I was lucky.”

“I’m so sorry.” Lena said, though she knew words could never fully convey the full measure of what she felt. She knew that all too well. She reached out and held Kara’s hand gently, squeezing it to reassure the other woman that she understood her pain. The blonde nodded and shrugged.

“I love the Danvers and I’m happy to be a part of their family. Life goes on, you know?” She said and gestured to Lena. “Is that what your tattoo is about? Sorry—I saw it before the party. When you were, erm… you know.” Kara blushed, her cheeks suddenly bright red.

Lena’s own face flushed with embarrassment but she nodded all the same. “They’re swallows. Three of them. One for my birth mother, my father, and my brother. Say what you will about Lex, but I knew him before things went wrong. He was a brilliant man and a kind one. Anyone who grows up under the roof of Lillian Luthor is bound to be broken somewhere.” Lena swallowed. Kara nodded and let out a wry laugh.

“And here I thought I had problems with my mom.”

Lena let out a laugh and sighed. “Lillian was hardly a mother. She was a matriarch. But, she’s gone now and I’m free to live my life as I please.”

“Alone?” Kara asked.

The editor swallowed, “It’s always been easier that way. Fewer people to disappoint and all that.”

“Now I’m the one who feels sad for you.” Kara said, shaking her head and squeezing Lena’s hand tightly. “Okay, enough of this sad stuff.” She said, a smile already reappearing, “Rapid fire fact round! My favorite food in the world is potstickers.”

“When I was 10, I won my high school’s science fair.” Lena replied, causing Kara’s eyebrows to shoot up.

“There’s a lot to unpack there, but moving on… I actually really like the Psychic Network. Not like in a “Haha, isn’t that funny, this is such a garbage show” way. I kinda enjoy it.” Kara said.

“My first concert was an Evanescence concert when I was twelve.” Lena offered while Kara laughed.

 “I took disco lessons in the sixth grade.”

Lena laughed, shaking her head, “What? Alright, you have no room to laugh at me! Mmm, I’ve never played a video game.”

“Never? Not even an arcade game? Space Invaders was one of my favorites.” Kara sighed before continuing, “I take the stairs at work because the elevator makes me claustrophobic.”

Lena’s smile faded at Kara’s revelation and she nodded. “I don’t like flowers in the house because they remind me of funerals.”

“I haven’t been with anyone in over a year and a half.” Kara admitted.

“I went to the bathroom and cried after Siobhan called me a poisonous bitch.” Lena said quietly. She knew what everyone thought of her, she knew the names that they called her when they thought she wasn’t listening. And, for years, she had worked so hard to make herself numb to it all, to force away the pain that went with every word. But, the impunity and sheer hatred on Siobhan’s face, it cut deep.

“I… I didn’t know.” Kara said. Lena pulled her hand away, eyes tearing up as she slipped under the covers of the bed.

“It’s okay.”

“No, it’s not. I’m so sorry.” Kara said, sliding into bed next to Lena. She clicked off the lamp on the nightstand, darkness filling the room while Lena stared up at the ceiling of Kara’s room. They lay in silence for a moment, Lena focusing on her breathing as she attempted to quell the uneasy feeling in her stomach. Pre-wedding jitters of the highest degree; this wasn’t a wedding. It was a sham. And she was taking away something that meant so much to all of them.

“Lena?” Kara whispered. Tilting her head, Lena could see that Kara was facing her, those blue eyes shining in the dim light. “I just want you to know that you’re a very beautiful woman, but you’re also one of the strongest people I’ve ever met and you don’t deserve all the horrible things that have happened in your life. No matter what anyone says.”

With that, the blonde rolled over and her slow, easy breathing filled the room. While Lena was sure that Kara meant her words in a supportive way, they did nothing to ease her own fears. The wedding was tomorrow and she’d never felt more unsure of anything in her entire life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, some actual heart-to-heart talks between these two, plus a nod to the original movie! I know some of you wanted to see Lena dancing around the fire to Get Low, but I just couldn't find a way to fit it in. Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed the update!


	13. Chapter 13

A quiet chiming alarm went off and Kara frowned, her eyes still shut. Her bed was so warm and soft and perfect. Grumbling to herself, Kara burrowed her head deeper into her pillow and let out a long sigh. Her bed smelled like sunshine and the fabric softener that Eliza had used since she was a child and something… warm. Something different.

Eyes flicking open, Kara blinked and was startled to see a mass of dark hair in front of her along with a pale, exposed neck. She resisted the urge to jolt back in confusion and instead did a quick body awareness check. Her arm was thrown over Lena’s waist, cupping her body into her own while their feet were tangled at the foot of her bed. Oh god. Oh no, no, nope.

Face screwing up with effort, Kara did her best to extricate herself from bed without waking up her boss, slipping out of bed in a very literal fashion. Losing her balance, she fell onto the thick rug of her room with a dull thud. Kara scrambled to peek up over the edge of the bed—Lena was never a morning person at the office, so she doubted that the woman would like to be woken up by her klutzy antics. Luckily, Lena only rolled over in her sleep, eyes still closed and a soft sigh escaping her lips. Kara relaxed, visibly relieved. Good, good. Grabbing some clothes from her bag, Kara backed slowly out of the room and shut the door quietly.

“Already sneaking out on your lady, Little Danvers?” Kara nearly jumped out of her skin and she whirled around to see Maggie leaning against the wall of the hallway, a pleased expression on her face.

“Maggie! Don’t scare me like that, jeez.” Kara said, retrieving her clothes from where they’d been flung out of her hands. She was jumpy on a normal day, but today? Things were magnified.

“Sorry, sorry. I just wanted to let you know that Alex and I think Lena’s alright. Didn’t really get the chance to talk to you yesterday because you were mingling, so I thought I’d catch you before you headed out to go shopping with Eliza.” Maggie said, nodding. “But, like I said, she’s a good kid. Weird, complex, and definitely has some issues. But, she’s a good one.”

“Yeah, she is.” Kara nodded and was surprised to find that she wasn’t lying. Lena was good, when it came down to things. Rough around the edges, but who wouldn’t be after her childhood?

“I’m glad that you’ve found your person, Kara. Now, you better get to that fitting, otherwise we’ll have to raid your high school wardrobe for your wedding outfit.” Maggie teased before jerking her thumb towards Alex’s room. “Or Alex’s. I’m sure you could rock some plaid pants down the aisle.”

“I’m not sure who’d be first in line to kill me if that happened, Lena or Eliza.” Kara laughed. Maggie nodded in agreement and patted Kara on the shoulder before slipping back into Alex’s room. Maggie and her sister had such a good relationship, Kara really hoped that the next wedding the Danvers’ celebrated would be between those two.

Shaking her head, she headed towards the guest bathroom to get dressed, a smile on her face. Kara just hoped that the two of them would figure things out soon.

***

Kara looked at herself in the mirror of the dressing room, pleased with what she saw. While her mother had wanted her in a dress, she’d always had slightly different plans for herself, if she ever married a woman. The suit that they’d found fit her well and the tailor was just making some last touches to the hem of her pants. Hopefully Lena would like it when she saw the outfit.

What? Shaking her head, Kara frowned in the mirror. Why had she just thought about Lena? This wasn’t an actual wedding; they weren’t actually getting married. It didn’t matter what her boss thought… So, why had her thoughts drifted back to her boss? Was it because of last night?

Face flushing at how that sounded, Kara chewed the inside of her cheek. Last night had done something that Kara had never expected to experience—it had humanized Lena. For years, she had thought of her boss as nothing more than a heartless woman who didn’t have even a shred of human decency. She’d seen Lena do some things that, knowing what she knew now, weren’t as bad now that she understood the context. When someone had sent Lena a large arrangement flowers as thanks for her assistance on her book, she’d thrown them away, vase and all. Kara could only imagine how painful it would have been for the woman to see flowers that reminded her of the loss of her family. And those issues, that was why Lena was so reluctant to discuss family matters at work. She kept everything to herself, letting it bottle up inside and never telling anyone how she really felt.

“Kara?” The tailor spoke up, jolting Kara from her thoughts. “We’re just about done here. I think your mother is waiting out in the lobby for you. I’ll be sure to have it delivered to your home right away.”

“Thank you so much for doing all of this so last minute,” Kara said. The woman nodded and smiled before exiting the room to give Kara some privacy as she changed back into her clothes. Once she finished, Kara grabbed her bag from the chair in the dressing room and headed out to where Eliza was signing off on the last of the receipts for the outfit.

“Ah, Kara. I wanted to stop someplace before we go home.” Eliza said. Kara nodded, though there was something off about the way that her mother sounded. She couldn’t quite place her finger on it, but it seemed as though something was wrong. Of course, she knew that Eliza wasn’t exactly thrilled with their plans for today, but she hadn’t seemed all that off when they were back at the fort. Had something happened?

“What’s up?” Kara asked as they headed out of the store and towards one of the local cafes.

“I’m sure Alex already told you about this, but there was an INS agent who’d been hanging around yesterday. They chased him off, but he called the house earlier this morning,” Eliza said as she held open the door for Kara. When she stepped in, Kara was startled to see the familiar silhouette of a man she’d come across only days before.

“Mr. Lane here told me some very troubling things about Lena and about you. He told me that if you were lying, and he strongly believes that you are, he would send you to prison.” Eliza said, gesturing to the irritated looking man who was staring Kara down.

“I told you I’d be checking up on you.” Lane said with a cold smile. “Lucky for you, your mother negotiated a deal on your behalf. Now, this offer will last for exactly thirty seconds, so listen to me, Ms. Danvers. You are going to make a formal statement admitting that your marriage to Lena Luthor is a sham or you’re going to be sent to prison. Tell the truth and you’re free to go and she’ll be on her way back to Ireland. Simple as that.” He pulled a recording device from the inner pocket of his neatly pressed suit, thumb poised to click the button.

“Mom!” Kara hissed, turning to face her mother who stared at her in shock.

“Kara! What are you doing?” Eliza asked, bewildered as she gestured to the device

 “What are you doing? You listened to him? You believed him, over me? Your own daughter? Why can’t you just be happy for me, everyone else is!” Kara said hotly before whirling around to face Lane, her blonde hair whipping around her face. Seething, she growled, “And you. You want a statement? Here it is. I’ve worked at Royce for three years under Lena Luthor. A year ago, Lena and I started dating in secret and we fell in love. I asked her to marry me and she said yes. I’ll see you at the wedding, Mr. Lane. You can sit next to my mother, seeing as how the two of you both seem to hate my fiancé.”

Blood pounding, Kara stormed out of the café towards the docks, seething. She couldn’t believe this. She knew that her mother only wanted what was best for her, but the fact that she would do something like this? It hurt her far more than Kara could ever imagine. Glancing down at the Claddagh ring on her hand, Kara chewed the inside of her cheek. It was all a lie, there was no reason why the ring should actually matter to her.

But, again, the question that had been bothering her all morning came back to the forefront of her mind. Why did she care so much about all this? That had been her out, her chance to get out of this and finally be rid of Lena. She used to dream of the day when Lena finally got what she deserved, when she got what was coming to her. And Kara had that opportunity lying right in front of her, practically on a silver platter. And she’d gladly thrown it away.

Cupping her hands over her mouth, Kara’s eyes widened as she began to put the pieces together.

She liked Lena. Oh God, no, she didn’t just like Lena.

“I love Lena Luthor. Oh my God, oh Jesus.” Kara muttered to herself as she began to pace on the docks, her hands on her head as she struggled not to hyperventilate. She loved her. Maybe not quite in a, "Let's actually get married" kind of way, but she really did. She genuinely cared about her.

“Kara!” Turning, she saw her mother running towards the docks, a bewildered expression on her face. “Kara, I—”

“I love Lena!” Kara blurted out, still trying to process this revelation. Eliza sighed and shook her head. Before she could say something, Kara continued, "I love Lena! I like waking up next to her and hearing about her day and knowing who she really is, beyond that Dragon Lady persona she puts on. I like the way that she tries, so, so hard to be more than her family and I wish that she didn't have to do that all the time! I-- I love her!" Kara stuttered, shoulders heaving as she grappled with the reality of her words, every one of them true. Eliza stared at her daughter, taken aback.

“I... I didn't realize you felt so strongly about her.” She said, startled. "And, I know that I was harsh--" 

“Harsh? Harsh explains why you’ve been rude to her at the house. But, but, listening to some random government agent over me? Your daughter?” Kara asked, still reeling from the betrayal.

“I should have never doubted you. I just, I want the best for you and your sister. And I see how happy Alex is with Maggie and I want that for you too. I just never thought that it would come from your boss. All I ever heard from you and Alex was how spiteful and cold and just... awful she was to you. I didn't want you to go into a marriage if that's how she treated you.” Eliza said, “But, I've seen that she's not that person. Not entirely, not around you. So, sweetie, if she’s who really, truly makes you happy, I won’t stand in your way. Just, please… is she the one?”

Kara paused at Eliza’s words, mulling them over. Was Lena the one? Was her boss, who she had only really gotten to know over these last few days, the one? She knew a lot about Lena as her assistant, but last night had opened her eyes to an entirely different side of the woman. A softer side that, only days ago, Kara would have been hard pressed to say even existed.

Nodding once, Kara looked firmly back at her mother. “She is, Mom. She’s the one.”

Eliza’s face softened and she wrapped her daughter into a tight hug. “Okay. If you really love her, okay.” She said pulling away with tears in her eyes. “I love you, Kara. I do. I just want what’s best for you.”

“I know you do. But, I’m the only one who can know what would make me happy. And, right now that’s Lena.” Kara said, doing her best to hide how much her words were affecting her. She meant everything she was saying and it scared her. How could she mean this?

Eliza didn’t seem to notice, though. Instead, she wrapped her arm around Kara’s shoulders. “I love you, Kar. C’mon, let’s get back home.”

Kara rested her head against the wooden paneling of the boat as her mother steered them back towards the island, the salty spray of the sea comforting against her skin. She was going to get married. She was going to get married to a woman that she loved. Maybe not in the way that she had expected, but it was happening.

But did Lena love her? Of course she didn’t… why would she? Though Kara’s feelings may have changed, she couldn’t imagine that Lena would feel anything towards her. This was just a transaction in her mind, a business deal. And when it was all over… Lena would leave her.

Forcing the thoughts from her mind, Kara instead focused on the feeling of the ocean breeze on her face. Growing up, she had loved being out on the water. It was one of the places where she’d always felt at home and, when her adoptive parents lived on an island, there weren’t too many people she could hang out with after school. So she’d spent most of her time with Alex, surfing or swimming in the ocean, enjoying the sun. Being out in the sunshine always invigorated her and swimming in the ocean felt how Kara imagined flying would feel. She loved Midvale so much, but… it wasn’t quite home anymore.

She missed the loud city noise of National City. She missed the coffee shops on every corner, the anonymity of the hustle and bustle, the constant flurry of activity. Here, in Midvale, everyone knew who she was. Heck, half the town had come to her engagement party, because who could turn down the opportunity to come celebrate on the Danvers’ private island? In National City, Kara was just another assistant at one of the massive corporate companies and that was how she liked it.

And God, she missed her friends. She wished that Winn and James could be here to see the wedding. Even if they were probably just as skeptical as Eliza, she missed them.

“Alright, Kar. Maggie’s with Lena helping her get ready, Alex is in the guest bedroom downstairs, so you should head there.” Eliza said after checking her phone. Kara blinked, confused. “You can’t see each other until the ceremony, so she’s going to be upstairs and you’ll be downstairs. Maggie’s taking good care of her, so don’t worry.”

Kara let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding—the idea of Maggie helping Lena get ready was much less daunting than the idea of Alex helping her. Maggie at least had a sense of humor, whereas she wasn’t entirely sure if Alex had forgiven Lena for all of the things Kara had told her. Besides, Alex had always been really protective of her and probably would have relished the chance to threaten Lena a bit more.

“Your father, Jonn, and I will be finalizing everything—the guest should be here around 3, the ceremony’s at 4:30, so I think we’re following your dad’s schedule just right. If not, I’m sure he’ll steer us back on track.” She said and sighed. “I’ll try to be nicer to her, Kara. I will.”

“Thank you.” The blonde kissed her mom’s cheek before heading towards the house. Inside, the decorations from the party before had already been replaced with beautiful flower arrangements, with round tables set out for guest to sit around for the reception. Kara’s eyes widened in surprise—her dad and Jonn had been busy since she’d left this morning. Just how much time had they put into this? Looking around, she noticed that the name cards had been written in lovely blue and red script. A slow smile spread across her lips at that. Had her mother really looked through her old dream journal? This was almost exactly what she’d imagined as a little girl.

“There you are. C’mon, we gotta get your hair done.” Alex said, walking up briskly. Her own short hair was already done in loose curls and she’d thrown a robe over the red dress she and Maggie had picked out the day before for the wedding. “Did you go for a dress or a suit for the wedding?” She asked as they entered the guest bedroom, make up, hairspray, and a curling iron waiting for them at the vanity.

“Eliza was hoping that I’d wear a dress, but I found a really nice suit that I think will go well. The florists will be here pretty soon with the bouquets, which is a lot sooner than I thought it would be.” Kara said, shaking her head as Alex sat her down at the chair and began to look at her hair critically.

“Remind me to tell Maggie that she has to do the dishes for a month.” Kara glared at Alex in the mirror, though her sister just shrugged, curling iron in one hand. “We had a little bet going.”

“Why am I not surprised by this?” Kara let out a nervouse laugh as her sister began to look over her hair.

“So, I’m thinking that we keep it simple, pinning back the front and then some loose curls? I think it’d compliment Lena’s dress really well.” Kara swallowed at Alex’s words and nodded. Lena’s dress. Lena, in a wedding dress, out on the beach in front of their house. A wedding dress, for their wedding. That would be happening later that day. Oh god. This was happening. This was really happening.

She was going to stand out on the beach and they were going to get married in front of her family and thirty of her closest family friends. She was going to be married to Lena Luthor. Even if it was all a lie, it was still... overwhelming to think about. Lena, Lena Luthor. Her boss, but at the same time... someone much more than that?

“Kar? You all good?” Alex asked, curling iron already working on part of Kara’s long blonde locks.

“Hm?”

“You’ve been out of it for like… fifteen minutes. Are you okay? It’s okay to get nervous before the wedding, Dad kinda sprung all this on you.” She said, letting another beautifully curled bit of hair fall down Kara’s shoulders before moving onto the next segment.

“I know, I know. It’s just, there’s so much going on—” Kara cut herself off, not wanting to dig herself into a hole by telling Alex about what was really on her mind.

“Sweetie…” Alex put the curling iron down carefully before pulling Kara into a tight hug, burying her head into her younger sister’s shoulder. “Do you love her?”

Wordlessly, Kara nodded. Alex smiled into her shoulder. “Then it’ll all work out. Things have a way of coming together and I know it’ll work for you and Lena.”

“You really think so?”

“I know so.” Alex said. She gave Kara a final squeeze before turning back to the vanity. "Let's get that hair finished up so we can start on your make up. And, don't worry. I’m sure Maggie’s telling Lena the same thing.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaaaand we're nearing the finish line! Sort of. How about that for a change of heart, huh? But, the real question is: what does Lena think of their deal after everything that's happened between them? Hope you guys enjoyed reading this as much as I liked writing it!


	14. Chapter 14

“Luthor, I swear to god if you don’t quit it, I’m going to handcuff you to the chair. If your hair comes out of that damn bun because of this, I'll find a wheel chair and you'll get pushed down the aisle.” Maggie said, exasperated. Despite her protests, Lena continued to walk back and forth around the room, the train of her dress tangling around her feet while Maggie tried her best to straighten it out. Lena's make-up was tastefully light, providing an almost ethereal appearance to her pale skin while her hair had been arranged in an elegant up-do, the product of almost an hour of Maggie swearing through a mouthful of bobby pins and rewinding through a Youtube tutorial on her iPad. 

“I just, this is all happening so quickly.” Lena said, fanning herself as she paced. There was so much going on, so quickly. How had she not realized it until now, how absolutely insane all of this was? Getting married? The weekend before their INS interview? God. She couldn't do this. But she had to. She had to, for the sake of her career. She had to protect the work that she committed so much of her life to because without it... what else did she have?

“I know, the Danvers have a way of springing things on people out of the blue. And I know that being out here hasn't been easy on you. But, Jeremiah loves you and Eliza is coming around. Which, believe me, is good. It took months for her to warm up to me, so you’re already in good shape.” Maggie said, as she gave up trying to untangle Lena’s dress and instead chose to settle back on the bed, taking care not to crease the dark blue fabric of her bridesmaid dress. "Don't forget. Kara loves you. She's gonna be there at the altar and really, that's what it comes down to. You two, in love, doing your thing." She said with a nod.

Lena ran her hands down the front of her dress before taking another look in the mirror, though the mere sight made her stomach churn. God. This was such a sham. It was a lie. And Kara. She'd been dragged into this. After everything she'd experienced over the last few days, Lena's eyes had been opened to just how... compassionate Kara was. She was kind in a way that Lena had never known and she just deserved so much better than to be used like this. Kara Danvers deserved a real wedding, a real ceremony, a real moment with her family to celebrate and be happy. And here she was, ruining it all with her lies. All in a selfish attempt to keep her job.

Maggie’s phone chimed in with a buzz and the cop slipped off the bed, tapping the screen. “Alright, that’s our cue to get going. You're good, you know where everything is, the walking order, all that jazz?" Maggie asked and Lena could sense the nerves in the usually jovial cop's voice. "Sorry, you've probably got it. I just want to make sure this goes perfectly for you guys."

Perfectly. A perfect sham.

Lena took a deep breath and nodded, following Maggie out of the room. As soon as they exited into the hallway, Lena was startled to see Jeremiah waiting outside of her door. He looked rather dashing in his suit, a red rose pinned to his black lapel, though Lena couldn’t work out why he was here and not seated and waiting with the others.

“Lena, you look stunning." He said, a broad smile on his face as he pulled her into a hug. She accepted the gesture with a confused expression on her face. What was he doing here? "I hope you’ll do me the honor of letting me walk you down the aisle?” He asked, holding out an arm for her to hold. Taken aback, Lena stared. What was happening? Why hadn’t he walked with Kara? That was such an important part of the wedding, the act of walking his daughter to the altar. Why on earth was he here?

Before she could ask him any of the hundreds of questions racing through her brain, he shook his head. “Alex walked Kara down the aisle, per Kara’s request. Her mother was going to, but… Things are a little tense between them at the moment." Before she could protest, he held up a hand. "I wanted to do this, Lena, believe me. I know that you haven't had much of a family, but please, consider this my way of welcoming you into ours.” He said with a soft smile and gestured for her to take his arm again.

Shyly, Lena took his arm and allowed him to lead her down the stairs. As they walked, Lena couldn’t help but recognize a hint of Kara in the way that he looked at her—it was a ridiculous notion, of course. Kara was adopted, she wasn’t related to her family in any biological way. But the kindness, the compassion, the love, it was something that transcended biology. It was an innate part of being a member of the Danvers clan.

Which only reminded her how wrong all of this was. She was a monster, taking advantage of people who had been nothing but kind to her. She didn’t deserve to be here and these people didn’t deserve to be strung along like this. They shouldn’t be put through all the emotional hardship that Lena had forced upon them.

And Kara. Kara deserved… she deserved more than this. She deserved better than Lena. For the last three years, Lena had been nothing but rude and disdainful of her assistant and yet, Kara had… opened up to her. Even after she'd blackmailed her, put her livelihood on the line, she had been welcoming. Kara had shared her home, her family, and even her secrets with her. How could Lena continue on with this charade? It wasn’t fair. Not to Jeremiah and Eliza, who only wanted the joy of seeing their daughter marry someone she loved. Not to Alex, who just wanted to know that her sister was safe. And certainly not to Kara. God, it would never be fair to Kara.

Leading their way through the house, Maggie took two bouquets from the table by the backdoor, one made of deep red roses, the other a beautiful arrangement of white wildflowers, with what looked like forget-me-nots interspersed in between for a soft touch of blue. They just had to be forget-me-nots, God. “Your something blue.” Maggie said with a smile as she handed the bouquet to Lena, who took it with slightly shaking hands.

“Which makes me the something borrowed. Or old, your choice.” Jeremiah said with a chuckle, linking arms with Lena once more. Maggie cracked a nervous smile as she fixed her hair and looked over at Lena.

“You look great, Luthor. Or should I say, soon-to-be-Danvers?” Maggie said and sucked in a deep breath. “Count to thirty seconds and then go, okay?” She nodded at Jeremiah who gave a thumbs up before she ducked out into the backyard. Lena watched as Maggie disappeared down the small slope towards the beach, her quick walk slowing to a more appropriate pace as she faded from sight.

“Lena,” Jeremiah said quietly. “I know that this weekend has been a lot for you and Kara. I’m sure it’s been hard on you two, having to change your plans at the last minute and putting up with all of my wife’s… concerns. But, I wanted to thank you. You have no idea how important it was for us to be here for Kara’s big day. I know that you don’t know any of us all that well, but I’m glad that you’re a part of my daughter’s life. And now, a part of all of our lives.” He said, clearing his throat as he blinked. Lena was at a loss for words. This was a mistake. Jeremiah cared so deeply for his family and here he was, welcoming her into the family.

“Your life hasn’t been easy. I know that you lost your folks when you were quite young and your brother… has made some mistakes.” Jeremiah paused before continuing, “But, you’ve got family now, who will be here to support you.”

“Thank you.” She murmured, not sure what else she should say. What else could she say?

“No, thank you.” Sniffing, he smiled, eyes watery. Coughing, he nodded and wiped his eyes with the edge of his suit jacket. “I think it’s been thirty seconds. Let’s go get ‘em.” He said with a small laugh, opening the door for Lena.

Taking steadying breath, Lena stepped out and walked alongside Jeremiah towards the beach. With every step she took, she could feel her heart practically pounding out of her chest. But, an even stronger sensation welled in the pit of her stomach, eating away at her. She couldn’t do this. She just couldn’t. How many lives had Luthors already ruined? She wasn’t going to carry on her family legacy here, not like this.

As they reached the top of the hill, Lena’s breath caught in the back of her throat as she took in the sight before her. Rows of chairs, filled with people from the town, close family friends of the Danvers, all gathered around. In the background, the ocean waves lapped gently on the shore, not a cloud in the sky. A small ensemble of musicians sat to the side, instruments poised to play as they watched Lena and Jeremiah begin the walk down towards the aisle.

Heart racing, she forced herself to match Jeremiah’s measured, methodical pace. She had to do this, she had to. Her career, everything that she had ever worked for, it was all on the line. She couldn’t just throw it all away.

But, when it came at the expense of this family?

When they neared the back row of chairs, Lena first caught sight of Maggie, standing at the altar in her dark blue dress, bouquet clutched in front of her. The cop caught her gaze and winked before casting a look towards the musicians across the way. Immediately, the quartet launched into a slow, soft song that sounded…

Stifling a laugh, Lena bit the inside of her cheek to keep from reacting. Was this a romanticized, string quartet version of Bring Me to Life? How on earth? Alex caught her bewildered expression and tilted her head subtly towards Kara, whose back was still turned. Kara. Of course. Somehow, after that brief conversation, Kara managed to find a group of musicians to play this song of all things.

As she and Jeremiah began their walk down the aisle, everyone in attendance rose. The sudden noise jolted Kara to attention and she turned around to face them.

Lena’s breath caught in the back of her throat at the sight. Rather than white, Kara wore a blue suit that displayed her strong shoulders and slim waist, a dark bowtie in place of the standard necktie and a red rose pinned to her lapel. Part of her hair had been pulled back and artfully pinned away from her face, while the rest fell down her back in loose golden curls, so different from the tight ponytail Lena was used to seeing around the office. But was most startling to Lena was the lack of glasses.

Gone were the thick black frames that usually obscured Kara’s face. Instead, Lena could clearly see the bright blue eyes that had stared back at her last night. As she held Kara’s gaze, Lena watched as her face broke out into a bright, luminous smile. God. She was as radiant as the sun. No, she  _was_  the sun. And Lena was a Luthor, never meant to be in the presence of something so good and pure.

Jeremiah walked her up to the altar, parting ways with a smile while Lena took her place next to Kara. Her assistant glanced over at her and whispered, “You look… great.” The blonde said, her words sounding oddly strained. But, Lena took no notice.

“Did you really need to get people to play a string quartet version of an Evanescence song?” She asked. Kara shrugged with a slightly lopsided smile, clearly amused with herself.

“Everyone, please be seated.” Jonn said, smiling at the two women who stood before him. The guests all took their seats, settling back before he began the ceremony.

“We are gathered here today to give thanks and to celebrate one of life’s greatest moments. To give recognition to the beauty, honest, and unselfish ways of Kara and Lena’s love before their family and friends.” Lena winced internally at his words. Honest. Unselfish. This was how everyone else saw the wedding when it couldn’t be farther from the truth. Wringing her hands around the bouquet, Lena closed her eyes. Her career or Kara’s life? Her citizenship or the trust of an entire family? It wasn’t even a choice. “Because it is their family and friends who taught them to love—”

“Stop, please.” Lena said quietly. Jonn paused, blinking in surprise before leaning forward.

“I’m sorry?” He asked. Kara looked over at her, bewilderment clear in her bright blue eyes. Lena tore her eyes away from her, she couldn't look at her right now. She had to do this, while she still had the resolve.

“Lena…”

“Stop. There’s something, something I have to say.” Lena said, stomach churning as she said those words. She had to stop this. Now.

“Don’t—”

Cutting Kara off, Lena shook her head. Quiet gasps came from their audience along with soft murmurs of confusion. Alex seemed frozen in place behind Kara and Lena didn’t want to know how Maggie was reacting behind her. “I have to, Kara. This is something special to you and your family. I can’t take that away.” She whispered before turning to face the guests.

“Hello.” She said, aware of all the eyes suddenly glued on her. Sam was amongst the many faces, a young girl that Lena could only assume was Ruby staring from the seat next to her. Jeremiah stared on in confusion while Eliza’s eyes darted from Lena to a man in the crowd—Lane. How had he gotten into the wedding? Hadn’t Alex and Maggie mentioned something about chasing off an INS officer? Why was he… No, it didn’t matter. She had to go through with this.

“Thank you all so much for coming out here. I have a bit of an announcement to make about the wedding. More, more of a confession, really.” Lena said, clearing her throat.

“Lena, don’t do this.” Kara pleaded, her voice soft as she tried to take her hand. Stepping away from Kara’s reach, Lena spoke up.

“I am Irish, as you might have guessed from the accent. Not very good at hiding it. But, I am Irish and I have an expired visa and I’m about the be deported. Because I didn’t want to leave my life here and the work that I’d dedicated myself to, I forced Kara to marry me.” Titters of shock came from the crowd as they looked from one another, as though they couldn’t believe what they’d heard. Lena pressed on, ignoring Kara’s quiet protests. “See, one thing about Kara that I’m sure you’re all aware of is her amazing work ethic. I think, I think that she gets that from you.” Lena said, nodding towards Eliza, who shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

“And for three years, I watched her work harder than anyone else at our company. Day in and day out, she was always working, always taking on new project. Always with that cheerful smile of hers on her face, no matter how hard the job got. She knew what she wanted and knew that if she worked hard enough, she would reach that dream of hers. I saw how much she wanted to be an editor and I knew that if I threatened her job, she would do just about anything to protect it. So… I blackmailed her into coming up here and lying to you. All of you.” Lena cleared her throat, shifting her gaze away from the heartbroken look on Jeremiah’s face. Agent Lane folded his arms across his chest, a smug grin growing. “It was never meant to be this way. This gathering, this wedding, it was never supposed to happen like this. I thought that if it was a quick wedding at the court, we could sort everything out and go our separate ways when the time came. And, I thought that it would be easy to watch her lie to you all. But it wasn’t. And it wasn't easy to see just how much she was throwing away, for me." Lena let out a hollow laugh, shaking her head. "It seems that it’s not easy to ruin someone’s life when you find out how wonderful they are and how wonderful their entire family is. I’m not going to ruin what should be the most important moment of her life because of my selfishness. I’m so sorry.”

Directing her attention towards Eliza, Lena continued, “You have a truly kind and beautiful family. Don’t let this come between you. This was my fault and mine alone, Kara had nothing to do with this.”

“Lena, no.” Kara objected, but she shook her head. Lena wasn’t going to let Kara try to sacrifice herself like this. Lane already knew that it was all a lie, if Kara tried to do anything, he had evidence. She just admitted that it was a sham, in front of fifty or so witnesses. There was no way she would let Kara go down for this, not now.

“Kara, this was a business deal. You held up your end, but I’m calling it off.” She said, doing her best to hold onto the cool mask-like persona that she so often affected. But, Lena was unable to stop the slight quaver in her voice as she spoke. Swallowing, she stepped away from the altar and glanced over at Agent Lane, who was already rising from his seat, a triumphant smirk on his face.

“Meet me at the dock in five minutes, you’re going to take me to the airport.” Lena said as she hurried back up the aisle and towards the house. Gathering up the material of her dress, she practically ran up the hill, fleeing the mess that she had created.

Tears rolled down her face as she pulled open the door to the house and she began to sob. All she could see were the hurt and betrayed expressions on all of their faces. Jonn, Alex, Jeremiah, Eliza, she’d destroyed all of their trust…

She was doing the right thing, but why did it still feel so wrong?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there guys, long time no update. I'm really sorry for not updating and I figured you guys deserved to know why things took so long. A bit over a month ago, I came down with a very bad cold that turned into a bout of bronchitis. I wound up sleeping for about 12 hours a day for a solid week and a half, with little time to write.   
> Right after I recovered, I had a bad fall and severely injured my ankle-- I've been on crutches for 3 weeks and it's been a very mentally trying time for me, because going from being a very active person to being unable to even stand unassisted put me in a bad place. But, I know how much so many of you enjoy this story and I'm determined to finish this out. Updates just might be a bit more sporadic than usual because I'm going to be busy doing physical therapy and rehab for my ankle. I really hope you guys liked this update and I appreciate you all for sticking with me and this story.  
> -Cal

**Author's Note:**

> Comments, kudos, etc are always appreciated! Feel free to message me on tumblr at alexdanverswrites


End file.
